Now and Forever
by HistoryNut387
Summary: After suffering the final trap set by Sofia Lamb, Delta finds himself clinging to life, what will become of himself, Eleanor, the Little Sisters, and even Sofia's.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: In no way do I own any of the Bioshock Franchise, I'm just making this out of fun. The story plays out directly after the explosion in the tube getting to the sub. Delta has saved all of the little sisters, and is now in grave danger.**

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The aftershock of the explosion of lambs final trap left Delta disorientated for a short moment. When his vision finally cleared, he caught sight of Sinclair's escape vessel. He reached out with his mighty hand to try to get some sort of hand hold on it. Finally, his hand met the guard rail of the pod, and he clung to the rail in desperation. As the he ascended whilst holding strongly to the rail and the force of the water rushing past his body, only making holding on harder, he turned to see what was left of the hell that was once Rapture.

The lights of the city were still shining in the distance, being distorted by the water all around. Delta saw the ruins of the old Fontaine build sinking below him. The place that had stolen his old identity from him, and left him a monster of their creation. This city had taken so much from him, and left him almost nothing in return. The only thing he had left, which was also forcibly bestowed on him, was his daughter Eleanor.

He quickly turned his attention back to his accent. With a burst of his inhuman like strength, he lunged and grabbed the end of the guard rail with his other hand and hoisted himself up. With the pressure of the water pushing down on his body, coupled with his grievous injuries he sustained from the blast, he was forced down to his chest. But with a will more steel then the bathysphere, and strength greater than all the water in the ocean, he persisted upward. He fought the pain at every pull, and finally reached the glass dome at the top and came face to face with the women who had caused all of his pain.

Sofia Lamb swam toward where Delta was standing, searching for some residual oxygen left in the cockpit. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Eleanor appeared and swam up next to her mother. She stared deeply into her face as she was choking on her last breaths. Delta stood silently as he watched his daughter, wonder what she might do to this now helpless woman. As if to have taken it from nowhere, Eleanor pulled out a small oxygen mask, and placed it against her mother's face, allowing her to breath easily.

Delta was unsure how to feel at that point. He was still angry at this women had tried to take his life, and part of him wanted to see her die. Then, Eleanor caught sight of him outside of the dome. She swam over and placed her hand against the glass. Delta, now overwhelmed with happiness, placed his gigantic hand where hers was. That's when he realized, it was better that Sofia live, he was dying and he knew it. It would be better that Eleanor had someone in this world, to help her when she needed it, rather than have her try to face it alone.

Suddenly, Eleanor glanced upward, as if she saw something. Delta turned his head to see what she was looking at. Then, there was a loud splash as the sub broke the surface of the water like a whale. In this happening, Delta was thrown to his back. His vision cleared as his eyes adjusted to the first light from the sun he had seen in years. He turned his head to the side, and what he was brought a smile to his masked face, and a tear to his eye. The rising morning sun, it felt so good to see it again. He tried with all that was left of his might to lift himself up, but he was to weak now.

In his state of trying to haul himself up, he heard the sound of a latch opening. He then heard the sound of foot steps against metal. Eleanor had stepped out of the cockpit of the bathysphere, finally being able to show he face to the world. Her attention immediately turned toward to her father lying motionlessly there on the observation deck. With much haste, she dashed toward Delta unsure of his fate. "Father!" she yelled to him, but there was no response. She finally reached him and immediately knelt to his side, expecting the worst.

She reached down and gently stroked the side of his helmet. And as if he had come back from the dead, Delta very slowly reached up and touched his babies face for the first time in over a decade. Eleanor touched her father's hand, and gently pressed it to her cheek, as a single tear rolled down her face. "Father, please don't leave me." Eleanor said in a voice so soft and full of sadness. Delta reached up with his other hand and placed it on her shoulder, slowly moving the hand he had on her face down to her other shoulder. He very calmly pulled her down to him in a loving embrace. Eleanor rapped her arms around his shoulder, embracing him as she let soft tears flow from her eyes. _If these are to be my last moments_ Delta thought to himself, _then I want you by my side Eleanor. But I'll never get to tell you.......how much I love you._

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End part 1. I will continue with this if I get some reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2: New Beginning

The bathysphere was sitting on top of the surface, on the outside of it, there were two forms lying on the top of the sub. There was a silence all through the air, only to be broken by a few faint sounds. The sounds of sorrow.

Delta was lying on his back, as he held his daughter to him, trying to hold on for a few more moments. Eleanor had her head on his chest, gently clasping her father's arm. She had been lying there on Deltas chest for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a faint few moments, but she didn't care about time anymore. There was what appeared to be a small puddle forming on Deltas chest, for Eleanor had been softly weeping the entire time. She was listening very closely to his heart beat, which was slowing by the second.

Almost out of nowhere, footsteps were heard on the metal floor, coupled by the sound of dripping on the metal. Eleanor slowly lifted her head up, never taking her hand off of her fathers, and turned to see what it was. What she saw brought a shocked and slightly angered look to her face. It was Sofia, her mother, she was standing at the front of the open latch on the outside of the door, she was dripping with the cold sea water. Her body was pointed in their direction, but she did not look at them, her face was fixed firmly to the floor, with her hands behind her back.

Eleanor stood up very slowly, gently letting go of her father's hand and placing it on his chest, and turned to look at her mother. Delta could barley lift his head up, but he managed to do it, and saw Sofia. The man in the suit was unsure what to think of this woman, for he knew that she and Eleanor would be alone soon, for he would soon be gone from this world soon. Eleanor just stood there, glaring at her mother, for she had caused all of the pain that her father and she had endured.

Sofia slowly lifted her head up, knowing what she was going to be facing. She looked her daughter in the face, and she saw the look that Eleanor was giving her. It was that kind of look you get from someone, when you know you've done something wrong and they know it all too well. But the look on Sofia's face was all to different, one of remorse and sympathy, and she slowly approached her daughter. "Eleanor" said Sofia in a voice of guilt, "it may not mean much as an apology to you or Delta, but please take these and help your father" she said, as she took her hands from behind her back, revealing to needles filled with strange substances.

The first needle contained a fluid with a very light pinkish color. The second one contained a lime green colored fluid. Sofia handed them to her daughter, turned and then walked away to the side of the vessel, still looking very depressed and guilty. Eleanor took the vials in hand, unsure of what her mother had given her. She walked to her father side, kneeling beside contemplating what to do with these substances. Unsure if her mother was trying to kill her father fast, or something else, Eleanor looked down on her father and took his left hand in hers.

Delta looked up in silence, watching his daughter look down on him with a look that said I don't know what to do. He could feel his heart beating, it was slowing down rapidly. He felt Eleanor reach down and grab his hand, thinking she was trying to hold it one last time. The next thing he knew, his hand was being lifted upwards. He gave out a very weak confused groan, as Eleanor took out a needle and placed it in his IV tube.

Before she pushed down on the needle to inject the fluid, Eleanor said to him "Father, if this does anything to harm you farther, please forgive me." Closing her eyes, Eleanor injected the pink fluid into Deltas blood stream. Immediately expecting the worst, Delta closed his eyes, as his vision blurred for a short moment, thinking the broken bond was finally going to end him. But, it seemed as if things were not leading him to death, as it he could fell his heart starting to pick up a very slight bit.

Eleanor then injected the green fluid into his arm, that was the turning point. Delta felt a strange feeling go through his body, but strange in a good sense, like his body was restarting all over again. He could fell the wounds on his body slowly starting to mend themselves. He could fell his breathing start to pick up, his heart was at a normal rate again. Delta felt some of his strength returning to his body, and he carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3: Angles Heart

Before we continue with the story of what is happening with Subject Delta and the others, there are a few things that need to be brought to light. For that, we will need to go back, before Rapture became hell.

Rapture 1958, 7 months before the Civil War. At this point in her life, Sofia Lamb is in the Rapture prison known as Persephone, after being sent there by Andrew Ryan. She had left Grace in charge of Eleanor while she was away, knowing that she would find a way to break free. But all of her thought of escape came to an abrupt end, when word finally reached her that Eleanor was missing. Several weeks went by and she heard nothing about anyone finding Eleanor. Suddenly that changed, someone in the prison spoke of a little girl walking around with a strange guy in a diving suit, and she looked an awful lot like Eleanor.

Another month went by before Sofia heard any word about the child that was spoken of. This time it was confirmed it was Eleanor, she had been changed into something that would collect ADAM, people knew them as Little Sisters. They always escorted by their body guards, known as Big Daddies. Tales of what Eleanor had been doing with this man did not take long to spread. One person told of a time when someone approached the little girl, and the Big Daddy knocked back as hard as he could (which is extremely powerful mind you), without even caring what the person was doing or who it was.

A few more weeks went by as Sofia heard more and more tales of Eleanor and her protector, she had even found out how the Big Daddies worked and why they were so protective of the girls. With this going on, Sofia began to contemplate a plan that maybe able to get her daughter back, and help the man in the suit. But, she was going to need supplies in order to do it.

Through the use of a few smuggling operations, paid for by the preaching of a better life once she had control of Rapture, Sofia managed to get a hold of a generous amount of ADAM and equipment for experimenting. Sofia began work on a plasmid that would be able to reverse the effects of the big daddy conditioning that she kept hearing about. She only heard more about the conditioning as time went on though, meaning she had to constantly tweak her serum. When she was concocting the new plasmid, she noticed that the substance had a tendency to turn a pinkish color. Because of this, and the fact that she heard stories of what the Little Sisters talked about, she named the new substance "The Angels Kiss".

Months went by before Sofia could come up with a substance stable enough to even get rid of some of the conditioning. All the while though, Sofia had felt her feeling changing toward this so called "man". She began to think that maybe it wouldn't be worth it to have this thing cured, for he was suffering as it was. Never the less Sofia toiled away with the ADAM, sure she could come up with something soon.

Finally towards the end of November, Sofia had finished a prototype serum for the Big Daddy. But, Sofia had become on edge about giving it to him. The stories of his violence and extreme distrust of anyone that got near Eleanor only fueled her decision to not go through with this idea. Also, what would happen to this man once he was free, Rapture was on the berg of Civil War, he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

By mid December, Sofia's thoughts had changed entirely. She still had the plasmid, but decided that if this "thing" was going to be as violent as everyone said, she wasn't going to use it. Instead she devised a new plan with a few of her loyal followers. Then…. Well we all remember what happened that night on New Year's Eve. And that plasmid had been sitting with Sofia all that time, and never had a purpose until just then.

Now, the next needle doesn't require as much explaining. This was a new plasmid being developed at the time by Ryan's scientists. This particular plasmid was intended to work much like a healing agent, almost like pure ADAM. What made it different though, was the fact that it could heal very fast, from the outside of the body, and this inside, like healing internal bleeding for example. Unfortunately before this plasmid could be put into production, the war had erupted. Sofia had somehow managed to get a hold of one of them after Ryan's death.

So all along Sofia had a way to cure Delta, but never used it because of her quest for what she thought was a perfect world, and her inability to admit she was wrong about him. But now she had given it to him, as much as she didn't want to, she knew it would be the right thing to do now. And now we will rejoin our friends topside.

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**End part 3: ok so we will get back to whats happening with the bunch on the sub, I just thought you might like an explanation. You guys hang tight, I'll get the next one in as soon as I can.**


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4: Man Behind the Mask

Delta had finally managed to get himself into a position where he could see properly. He didn't understand, a few moments ago he felt deaths cold embrace creeping up on him. Now, he felt like his old self again, maybe even better. He could still feel the power of the fluids working on him, mending his wounds, bringing back his strength, and doing something he would not expect.

Eleanor looked at her father in amazement, without realizing it she let needle fall out of her hands. She stared at him, eyes as wide as they were allowed to go, mouth half opened. Delta looked Eleanor in the eyes, and then with her mouth still partially open, she gave him the biggest smile that he had ever seen in his entire life. "Father!" she shouted, with a voice overwhelmed with joy, as she lunged at Delta to embrace him. She did this with such great force that it almost knocked Delta on his back again.

"You're ok now father", said Eleanor with a lump in her throat. She couldn't hold back her tears, she was so happy to have him back, she couldn't hold herself together. Delta gave his daughter the biggest hug he could muster, without hurting her. She listened to his heart again, it was strong and steady, just as he was through Rapture. As happy as he was to be able to regain his strength, and hold his daughter again, Delta felt something funny going on.

He could feel a strange tingling sensation in his throat, like a feeling of something bubbling. It started in a small area, but was spreading quickly throughout his entire throat. He coughed very heavily, which caused Eleanor to look up at him, wonder what was going on. At the same time, Delta was unsure himself, it felt like he had an entire bottle of Hop-Up Cola in his throat. He gave off another very heavy cough, "What's wrong?" asked Eleanor. Suddenly Delta felt the sensation stop in his throat, but it felt very different, like an enormous amount of pressure had just been throat that he had never noticed. He sat there trying to get his breath back, because for a while he couldn't breathe properly. "Are you alright?" Eleanor asked as she looked at him in fear, thinking something was going to go wrong.

Suddenly a faint but very low voice was heard, "What?" it said. Delta lifted his head up very slowly, he started to reach were his throat would have been, if he wasn't wearing the helmet. _Can it be?_ Delta thought to himself, he let out a slight groan, but it didn't sound like his usual whale voice, it sounded…..Human. Eleanor looked around confused, wondering where the sound could have come from. "Eleanor, it's me." Said the voice again, Eleanor looked and she found where the voice was coming from, and boy was she surprised.

Delta was actually talking, for once after so long. It turns out, the effects of the pink fluid had more than the ones he felt at first. At this point Delta was thinking to himself, _If I've come this far and regained this much of my humanity, I might as well go the full length._ He reached done to the latches on his helmet, then started to loosen them. Eleanor just looked at him, still shocked by hearing his voice, wonder what he was doing. Delta pulled up on his helmet, the seal cracking and let out a large hissing sound. He lifted the helmet up over his head and let hang off his back, finally being able to reveille his face to world.

He looked to about in his early to mid forties, extremely short black hair, pale skin, and eyes that that were a very grey, blue color. He looked at Eleanor, who was just as wide eyed as when he was able to move again. She was unsure what to do at this point, she's finally seeing the face of the man that had done so much for her, and now he could speak, what would he say, she wondered. "Eleanor" he said in a deep, raspy voice. "There's something I have been wanting to say, for a very long time." Eleanor stared on in amazement, and that when he said the words that would be forever imprinted on Eleanor's mind forever. "I love you honey" he said with a smile on his face and tear rolling down his cheek. Eleanor didn't say a word, she only smiled, as tears of her own went down her face. She scooted over to him, and they both embraced each other slowly. "I love you to Daddy" Eleanor whispered in his ear, as they both kneeled there hugging.

At this point the Little Sisters were wondering what was happening on the top of the ship. All of them got to the observation deck, barley making a sound as they looked around. Suddenly one of the caught sight of Delta and Eleanor, she quickly informed the rest. Eleanor, still smiling, opened her eyes and saw the girls, she let go of her grip on her father, and showed her what she was looking at. Delta looked at them, and gave them a huge smile, the girls were unsure what to make of him, because they had never seen this man without his helmet on before. "It's ok girls" Eleanor happily shouted to them, "this is daddy Delta, he's all better now, and he will be with us from now on." This immediately made the girls smile, and they all rushed over to embrace their new father.

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**End Part 4: It's going to be a little while before the next chapter, so enjoy what you've got so far. I mean I've been working at this almost every day, so I'll need a little time, ok I'm gonna get a sandwich.**


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5: Faith in Forgiveness

There was quite a bit of commotion, on the deck of the bathysphere. The girls were so happy to see that Delta was ok, they swarmed on him like bees. He didn't mind though, he was actually enjoying himself. Between the endless sea of kisses and hugs going on between Delta and the girls (Eleanor included of course), you could her Delta chuckling, he was grinning like crazy, and he truly was happy. Then one of the youngest ones somehow managed to get up high enough to give him a kiss on the side of the head.

He felt a very dull pain, not enough to cause arousal, but he couldn't help but wonder what it was. He reached up to where the little one had pecked her kiss, he didn't feel anything at first, but that's when he found it. Right on his temple, he felt a shallow indent, indicating a scar. It was from the old bullet wound he got all those years ago. Suddenly, he stopped smiling, for he knew he had unfinished business to attend to.

Delta turned his head, like he was looking for something, and that's when he found what he was looking for. Sofia was kneeling at the edge of the bathysphere, not saying a word, not moving a muscle, just starring at the light house that led to Rapture. Delta gently pushed the little girls off of him, as all of them, and Eleanor, gave him a bewildered stare as he stood up. He started to walk over to where Sofia was, as he did Eleanor stood up and tried to follow him. He quickly made a hand motion for her to stay as he shook his head, this was between him and Sofia.

He took slow, steady strides toward the unaware woman, he didn't want her to think his intentions were that of revenge. He paused when he was just a few short feet away from her, he heard the sound of water dripping against metal. He crept up a little closer so he could see the side of her face, and what he saw brought pity to his heart. _Tears._ Tears were pouring down her face like rain, and the emotion on her face, was nothing short of gilt mixed with remorse.

Eleanor and the girl stared on as they watched him just look down on Sofia, not knowing what he was going to do. Delta took one more step toward Sofia's side, and then let out a heavy sigh as he sat down next to her, dipping his feet in the water. Sofia knew he was there, but she didn't dare look at him, afraid of what would happen if she did. For a few moments, the two just sat there staring out to the ocean, and letting the sun beat down on them. "It's nice to feel the sun again" Delta said finally breaking the silence, then Sofia finally turned her head to face him, tears still in her eyes.

Delta looked at the woman with a serious face, she still looked full of sorrow as a few more tears dripped down her face. "What are you feeling right now?" he asked her, knowing she had mixed emotions about what was happening. Then, she finally said something to him, " I'm sad, because all of my work was wrong. I feel guilty, because I've done things that are inexcusable. And I…". She was going to continue, but was cut off by Delta. "Do you feel anger?" he asked her, "What?" she asked looking at him puzzled. "Are you angry" he said again, "What do you mean?" she asked him. "When we were in Rapture, you always would show that you hated me…. for trying to get to Eleanor, and for saving the little ones." He said, "So my question to you is, are you still angry at what I did?" There was a long pause between the two, as they stared at each other.

Finally, Sofia broke the silence. "No" she said in a sorrowed town, turning back to the light house. "You showed me, that I was just as equally selfish as Ryan" she said sniffing, trying to hold back more tears. "I was so blinded by my own wants for a perfect world, I didn't notice that what I was really doing, was ruining my daughter, by not letting her have a choice." she said, "And you, saved her, and I still saw a monster, not the man you truly are". She continued tearfully, "All of the things of the things I've done to you, because of my own madness" she paused to wipe the tears from her eyes, " are unforgivable, and I wouldn't hold anything against you if you didn't." she said finishing. There was another long pause between the two again, as Delta looked at the women just starring at the floor, still quietly weeping, and his eyes shifted from that of serious intention, to that of pity again.

"Sofia" he said to her in a deep gentle voice, she looked up to face him as he talked. "What I have learned about people" he said, "is that often when they do something on their own, they're only doing what they thing is best." "That is no different then what you were doing. You were just trying to help the people of Rapture in a way you thought was right." He took in a deep breath before continuing, " But you were going about it the wrong way. You thought you could make a utopia by having someone serve the common good without question, and even not care about their own identity." He took another pause before going on. "But that's not true Sofia, the only way people can make life better is if they are able to pursue their own interest. People will always try to find a way to make themselves happy, and sometimes they do it through trying to advance life. And sometimes in doing so, they can unknowingly make thing better for the people around them." Sofia was starring at Delta, amazed at how philosophical he was.

"So you see Sofia" he continued, "If people are allowed to better themselves, they can better the world around". Delta stood up and looked down on the women, "I have already forgiven you for what you have done." He extended his hand down to her, she hesitated at first, then she timidly reached out and took it. He hoisted her up, and then he said "There is one other person you need to apologize to though." She nodded, knowing who he was talking about. Both of them walked to Eleanor and the girls, who had been staring at them the entire time, wonder what was being said between the two. They reached the girls, both of them looking unsure, then Sofia faced Eleanor and approached they young woman. "Eleanor" Sofia said, "I have realized the error of my ways. It was wrong for me to force you into the ADAM treatment. And it was also wrong for me to try and keep Delta away from you. Only ask now, that you find some way to forgive me, for everything that I've done." The woman finished wiping a tear from her eye.

Eleanor looked at her mother with a serious look, for she had done things that could have killed all of them. But she had also given her father another chance at life, and it seemed that they had done something over what had happened. "Mother" she finally said, "you have done some of the most downright horrible things that I have ever seen in my life. You've killed father once, and then you tried to do it again. You turned an innocent man into one of those monstrosities (she's referring to Mark Meltzer, R.I.P.), you've destroyed Dr. Alexander's life, and on top of all of that when didn't go the way you wanted it you tried to kill all of us." The young woman had finished screaming at her mother, who was looking at the floor the entire time. Suddenly Eleanor had felt her morals kick in, that is the one of forgiveness. "But after all of that was over" Eleanor said in a much softer voice, "you followed father's example, and forgave, and even made amends. And that is why….. I do forgive you mother."

Sofia looked up, in a slight bit of shock, for her daughter had forgiven her. Unsure what to say, she just looked on at Eleanor, who then gave her mother a grin. Sofia herself then started smiling, as a tear of joy rolled down her face. Which caused Eleanor to do the same, but Eleanor just let out a little laugh as she smiled. Both women then looked at Delta, who had on the biggest smile in the world. He opened up his gigantic arms, and the two women knew what he wanted, they went over and both of them took one side of his body and squeezed. Delta then wrapped his arms around his two girls in a loving embrace. He took a quick glance down and saw the little girls watching them. "Well" Delta said happily, "your part of this family too, so get over here." The now ecstatic girls wasted no time to start hugging the legs of what they knew now, was a true family.

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**End Part 5: Don't worry guys I'm not done yet, but as you can see they are getting longer. So just hang tight part six will be soon, hopefully. (sound of chewing) Oh man, I forgot the Mayo. **


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6: For Those Forgotten

On the surface of the bathysphere, Delta, Sofia, and Eleanor were ushering the small girls inside so they could prepare to leave. "Come on girls" Eleanor said to them, "it's going to take a while to get to land. So the faster we get everything ready, the sooner we'll be there." Eleanor finally got the last of the children inside, before going in herself. Delta and Sofia looked on happily as their daughter herded them inside. They both looked up at each other, and they both smiled at one another.

Delta then looked over to where the light house was, and the grin lift his face. He walk over to the edge again, trying to get as close as he could to the light house. Sofia walked up next to him, he looked to her, and she was giving him a confused stare. He looked back to the light house very seriously, "Something needs to be said" he said to her. She paused for a moment, and then gave him a slight nod, as she knew what he meant.

He reached down to one of his pockets on his right side, and opened it. As he reached in, Sofia wondered what he was looking for. That's when he found it, he pulled it out of his pocket very slowly, it was the rose that he found in the box at Dionysus Park (left by a little boy who had intended for it to be given to a little sister he saw). He looked down at it, examining the pure elegance of it. He then extended out the hand he had the rose in and looked towards the light house with a mournful face. Sofia face the light house while she stood next to him, and lowered her head in respect.

"This rose" he began, "will serve as a symbol to those of us who were lucky enough to escape the hell that was Rapture, to remember the people in it, who tried to do actual good there, or tried to make amends for the wrong they had done before. To all of those people who are either still fighting, or have fallen due to others corruption. For all of those people, we will now take the time, to stop and remember you."

Eleanor was getting curious as to what was happening, for her mother and father hadn't come into the cockpit yet. She took a look outside, and saw them standing close to the edge of the bathysphere. At first she didn't understand what they were doing, but that was before she was the rose in Deltas hand, and he was talking loud enough for her to hear.

Delta went on with what he was saying, "Mark Meltzer, the man who came to Rapture with a simple mission, to find his daughter. I'm sorry that I had to be the one to separate you and your daughter, but I gave you peace by releasing you from that monstrous form. Your daughter is now safe, and may you rest in peace. Bridgette Tenenbaum, you were the one that started ADAM and turned small girls into little sisters. But, you realized what you did was wrong and tried to bring them back to what they used to be, and even helped me get my daughter, and my life back. Augustus Sinclair, you were a man who cared about what happened to yourself, and you only helped people who you thought could help you. But, in your final moments, you showed that you were willing to give, even if there was nothing for you in return, and revealed that you were selfless. You were also the only person who I would have actually called a friend, may you be at peace now. Grace Holloway, you didn't know what my true story was, and in doing so you tried to have me killed. But, I showed you that there was more to me then the stories told, that I was more than just a monster, and in doing so you forgave ma and gave ma another chance, I hope that you are safe. Gilbert Alexander, you were the man that created me into what I was, because you thought that it would help better Rapture. You became something so inhuman you didn't know what was actually going on, and that is something that no person should go through."

He took a pause to regain his composure, for this was taking a lot to talk about the past. "Did we forget anyone?" he asked Sofia with a lump in his throat. Sofia slowly shook her head, as she let out a sorrowed sigh, for she felt pain over what she had done to some of those people. Delta continued after taking in a long breath, "To all of these people, we are sorry that you could not be with us to come back to sanity. For those of you that are still alive in that hell, try to be safe, and hopefully you will find a way out yourself. We will remember you, not for what you may have done wrong, but for the good things you have tried to do right. We now say goodbye, to those forgotten."

He opened his hand, and let the rose fall to the water. It drifted slowly to the ocean, and rested there for a few short moments, before it was swept away by the current. Both of them watched the rose slowly float away, and then they faced each other. "I'm so sorry for everything that I've done to you, and all of those people." Sofia said to Delta. He placed his hand on her shoulder, "I told you" he said with a smile, "I've already forgiven you. And now we have a new start in this world." Sofia smiled at him, then they looked deep into each other's eyes, and felt a sort of connection they had never felt before.

They turned back to the were the door was, and saw that the girls had been watching them. Eleanor was looking at them with a grin, for she knew that those two had finally agreed with something. Delta and Sofia just smiled on, as they walked side by side to the door. "We were just paying our respect." Sofia said to the group. "I know" said Eleanor, "I heard what was said. It was the right thing to do." "Alright everybody" Delta said in a slightly happier tone, "let's get this tub moving, we might just be able to hit land by tomorrow morning." With that said everyone hurried inside, Delta allowed Sofia to enter first, and she gave him a pleasant "Thank You" to him. Before going in himself, Delta took one last look at the light house and closed the door behind him. It was finally done, now it was time to start anew.

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**End Part 6: Well they are off, but the question is, where will they be taken? Find out on part 7, and thanks for all of your reviews and support.**


	7. Chapter 7

**WARNING: The following story goes into graphis detail on on gore, Reader Discretion is Advised.**

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Part 7: Problems Everywhere

It was taking a while for things to actually get started on the bathysphere. The explosion from before had left some bad damage to the hull, and the lower chambers were flooded. Delta, being the only one "suited" for the job, had to go down and repair the leaks. He was not happy about it though. For starters he had to put his helmet back on to go down there, which he didn't like in the least. Second, he had never used his rivet gun under water before, and wasn't sure if it would work or not. Those fears quickly subsided though, when he remembered seeing the big daddy outside repairing part of Rapture. He quickly got to work and patched up the holes with some scraps of metal he managed to find.

Back up in the cockpit, Eleanor and Sofia were busy trying to plot a coarse to the main land of America. Delta trusted Sofia enough now to know that she wasn't going to try and pull something while he was away. It was somewhat hard for them to plot out the coarse though, especially with 10 small girls run around inside of cockpit. So, Eleanor was in charge of keeping the girls entertained, while her mother was busy looking at coordinates to get them to land.

Eleanor decided to tell the girls stories of her past to keep the girls entertained. She told them of the time just before she became a little sister, and she got to meet Delta before he was a big daddy. " I do remember a little what he looked" Eleanor said to the girls, " he had the same hair color, but it was a slightly longer. His eyes were more blue then they are now, and he had stubble all over his face. The doctors told me, 'that your new daddy'. I was excited at first, because I had never had a father before, but I was thinking how this man could be my daddy." The girls listened with amazement, and Sofia listening as well but acted like she wasn't. " They took me in to see him, it looked a little bit like a hospital room. He was lying there on a bed, his arms were strapped to it, and he looked like was tired. I went up to him and introduced myself, he turned his head to look at me, and gave me very weak hello. Just then the doctors said it was time to begin, but I didn't know what they meant. I looked over at him, and he looked scared, of what I don't know. They pulled his bed into a room, and they had me follow him."

Before Eleanor could continue with her story, Delta walked in, dripping wet. He had his helmet off again, and looked rather content with himself. " Ok, the holes are repaired, we should be able to get moving now." He said giving a goofy grin. "Alright" Sofia said happily, " I've just found the correct coordinates, so as soon as I put them in, we'll be off." "Great" Delta said, throwing Sofia a smile, which answered was back with one of her own. Sofia punched in a few buttons, and before they knew it, they were moving. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief, for they were unsure if it would even work.

A few hours went by, and everybody was trying to find things to entertain themselves. Some of the girls had managed to find a few crayons, and were happily drawing on the floor. The others had some stuffed animals, and they were just playing with each other. Eleanor and Sofia would sit with the small girls and watch them play, and sometimes even get coaxed into playing with them. Delta, had to make a couple running repairs with the electrical system as they went on. For him though, it was fairly simple to rewire the thing, after all that time with hacking turrets, cameras, and security bots. Eleanor would every so often look over to watch Delta work, and would smile at him, without him even noticing.

A few more hours went by, and now it was getting dark. A few of the girls started yawning, Delta smiled and said, "I think it's time we start making some sleeping arrangements." And then yawned himself. Sofia snickered at the sight of his yawn, and started looking around for thing to use for bedding. After a while, the three of them had managed to find some old cushions and sheets, and even managed to find two mattresses. They were wet, but it didn't take long to dry them, with the help of Delta and Eleanor. They arranged the cushions and mattresses so they were huddled together, and spread the sheets out over the top, and then the girls climbed in.

Eleanor went into what appeared to be a closet, and when she came out a few minutes later she was back in her white dress. Delta and Sofia both thought it was to be a bit more comfortable while she slept, and they were right. Suddenly there was a loud pop noise from one of the machines, which made all of the girls look up in curiosity. Delta gave a sigh, "It's ok, I got. You guys can go to sleep though, it's been a long day." The girls just rested their heads down again, and Eleanor lied down next them, telling them that it was ok and he could fix it. Sofia took a sat down in one of the seats surrounding the windows and relaxed a little as she watched Delta. One of the girls that was watching Sofia, got up and sat in the seat in the seat next to her. Sofia didn't realize she was there until the child put her head in her lap and started to fall asleep. Sofia just smiled as she looked at her, while stroking the side of her head to help her sleep.

The work that Delta was doing took close to an hour, and by to time he was done everyone was asleep. He smiled as he saw how peaceful they all looked. He saw Sofia sleeping with her head rested against the window and the girls head in her lap. He picked up one of the spare blankets, and put it over the child. Delta then looked at Sofia, and paused for a few moments. Delta had never realized it before, but Sofia absolutely beautiful. He looked at her for a few more moments, as he gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face, and then turned his attention away from her. He then bent down to Eleanor, who was fast asleep, and gave her a kiss on the side of her head, which caused her to smile a slight bit.

Delta walked over to one of the seats that was situated against the window, and sat down with a heavy sigh. He looked at everyone, they all looked so peaceful. Delta sat there for a few moments trying to fall asleep, but it was difficult, because the only times he had been anywhere close to sleep, were the times when he was forcibly knocked out. He hoped that it wasn't as abrupt as those times, but eventually sleep found him.

"Wake up daddy" Delta heard a small voice say, and he thought it was one of the younger girls. But, when he opened his eyes, he saw Eleanor, but she was far younger. Delta was extremely confused, especially after he took a look as to where he was. He saw that he was sitting in an armchair, and it felt comfortable. He also noticed that he was not on the bathysphere anymore, he was in a rather nice looking house, it was clean and organized, and had a very welcoming sense to it. He then turned his attention back to Eleanor, who was no older then she was when she was a little sister. She was wearing a pink dress, shoes that matched it, and had her hair tied in a braid, but her eyes were normal. "Come on daddy, mummy's just finished dinner." She said to him with a smile on her face, then she skipped off into the next room.

Delta was still very confused, but he liked what he was seeing. He pushed himself up from the chair, and caught scent of something. He took in a big breath through his nose, he didn't know what he was smelling, but it made his mouth water. He followed the scent, it lead through the door that Eleanor had gone through. What he saw in the next room, in his mind anyway, was something of pure serenity. Sofia had her back turned to him, for she was cooking on a stove and prepare food. There was a table set in a room just outside of the kitchen, which was all set for a meal. A blue table cloth was set over it, in the center of the table was a porcelain vase with three daisy's in it. There were three sets of plates and utensils set around the table, each one set at a chair.

Eleanor was sitting in the seat at one end of the table that had the smallest plate at it, letting her legs dangle off of the seat. She was just sitting there smiling, waiting for her parents to join her. Sofia turned and saw Delta staring at the set table. "Oh good, you're up" she said cheerfully, "Go ahead and sit down, and I'll bring dinner out and just a second." Delta stood there for a moment while Sofia went back to cooking, he was still slightly confused, but he went and sat down in the center seat at the table. Eleanor looked up at him smiling, and he gave her a smile back, for he felt very happy over all of this. Eleanor looked over to the door that lead to the kitchen, Delta turned his head so he could see.

Sofia was walking into the dining room, holding what looked like a plate of baked ham. As she was walking in, Delta thought he heard a second set of footsteps, but quickly dismissed it. When Sofia got into the dining she said, "I hope your all hungry, because..", before Sofia could finish, there was a loud bang. The bang, came from a shotgun pointed at Sofia's head. The pellets hitting her head quickly came out through her face, knocking off her glass, and even pushing one of her eyes out of head. The spray of blood from the blast was so powerful, it managed to get enough distance to spray Eleanor and Delta. Her body quickly fell to the floor face down, dropping the plate with her.

Eleanor sat there silent for a few moments, eyes wide and mouth open, before letting out a scream of pure terror. Delta sat there with a shocked look and blood on his face. He saw the man with the gun, it was a splicer wearing a mask. Delta stood up ready to confront this monster, but he didn't notice that Eleanor had run of out pure fear. Delta stared at the splicer, the splicer just laughed at what he did. "You son of a bitch" Delta said angrily as he was about to charge at the man. Before he could do it though, he felt something splatter against the side of his head. The green blur in his vision confirmed his fear, he was hypnotized again.

He turned and saw the other splicer that had hypnotized him, "There" said a deep voice, but it wasn't coming from either of the splicer's, "nice and docile." The voice said again. Delta looked over and saw a man wearing a black suit, he was bald, had a small mustache, but Delta knew who it was, it was Frank Fontaine. "What did you expect" he said in a smug tone, "that you could just leave, and all of your problems would be gone. Well sorry chum, it don't work like that in my business, and I own you. Now, I can't have a failed experiment walking around in broad daylight, it's bad for the company's image. So, after a long time of thinking, I came up with how I'm go' in to deal with you." Fontaine took a long pause, which left Delta anxious, but then he spoke up again and said one word, "Termination."

Fontaine snapped his finger, then one of the splicer's gave him a shotgun. "Now, take the gun" he said to him, Delta obeyed and to the gun from him. Fontaine then took out a single shot gun shell, Delta saw that it was a solid slug. "put the bullet in gun.", Delta again obeyed. At this point Delta had a pretty good idea as to what was going to happen next, so he prepped his mind for what he thought was coming. "Now, turn around" Fontaine said, Delta was confused, but unwillingly turned around.

Behind him, he saw Eleanor, she was tied to a chair with a piece of cloth tied in her mouth so she couldn't scream or talk. "Point the barrel at her head" Fontaine said, Delta was absolutely shocked to hear this, but his body obeyed. He slowly raised the gun, trembling as it went up, for he was trying to fight it. Eleanor looked at Delta with a very scared face, she looked at him and he was scared to. "Please, don't make me do this" Delta finally managed to get out, "she's all have, if I do this I won't be to live with myself." he said tearing up. "Don't worry" said Fontaine in the same smug tone, "you won't be living after this anyway." Delta looked back down at Eleanor, who had eyes full of tears, and was still looking at him. "Pull the trigger" said Fontaine in an evil tone, Deltas finger was trembling on the trigger as desperately tried to stop himself, but it was no use. "Eleanor I'm sorry" Delta said with tears running down his face, "I would never hurt you, you're my baby." But Eleanor just stared at him with tears gushing down her face.

All of the sudden, Delta felt his finger squeeze down on the trigger, then everything seemed to go in slow motion. The hammer at the end of the barrel came down, activating the charge on shotgun shell. The bullet exited the barrel, and meet Eleanor's forehead. The slug penetrated into her skull, then her eyes rolled to the back of her head as her eye lids shut for good. She slumped over in the chair, and a stream of blood poured out of wound. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" was all Delta managed to scream out.

"No!" Delta shouted out a little, as he woke from his dream with a shudder. He took a quick look around, and realized immediately he was on the bathysphere. Everyone was still sleeping soundly, but now he was wide awake. He was panting like he had ran for six hours, and sweating the same way. Suddenly he felt a very bad felling in his gut, and it said _I'm going to be sick_. Turns out, he had been so scared and utterly disgusted by his dream, it did indeed make him sick. At first he thought he should go outside, gut he knew he wouldn't be able to make it. That's when he saw a stray bucket laying on the floor next to him. He got on the floor, on his hands and knees with the bucket just below his face, and that's when it all came up.

At first he thought he should try to be quite, as to not wake anyone up, but when he did that first heave, there was no stopping the noise that came from it. The sound of his first one woke up the girl who was sleeping in Sofia's lap. She lifted her head up and looked around, then she saw Delta on his knees with his face in the bucket. She knew what he was doing, and also thought that he might need someone. She turned around and tugged on Sofia's sleeve, which caused her to wake up. Sofia looked down at the small girl, "Daddy's sick" she said to Sofia as she pointed to Delta. Sofia looked over just as Delta was giving off another heave.

She gently moved the child aside, went over and got on her knees as she rubbed Deltas back to help sooth him. Between his moans of pain, Delta looked up and saw Sofia giving him a smile, he managed to give a small smile before putting his face back to the bucket. In all of this happening, Eleanor woke up and saw Delta and Sofia, and she went over to see how he was doing. After about ten minutes of gut wrenching vomit attacks, he seemed to have stopped, but man did his stomach hurt. He managed to get himself back up in the chair, then Sofia picked up the bucket.

"Could you see if he needs anything while dispose of this?" Sofia asked Eleanor, Eleanor gave her a nod. Sofia went outside to dump the contents into the ocean, Eleanor went over to a now exhausted Delta and asked if he wanted anything. " Could I have some water please" said Delta in a tone of exhaustion. Eleanor went over to a small pile of supplies, pulled out a small jar of water and opened it. She went over and gave it to him, he took a few gulps and gave it back to her. Just as Eleanor was doing that, Sofia came back inside, and the little one that was sleeping on Sofia was now curled up to him. Delta looked at them, he had never had people take care of him like this before. AS much as he liked it, it also bothered him a lot that they were going to all this trouble just for him.

**I know its a little over the top in some areas, but tell me what you thought of it anyway. Also stay tuned for part 8.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Well, if anything, this will help bring some insight to some of the questios i've been asked, so please enjoy.**

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Part 8: Broken Beneath

Delta reached up to his face, and wiped some of his saliva off of his face. He looked down at the little girl snuggled up to his side, she was drifting off into sleeping again, after she found out he was alright. He had his hand on her back, and was rubbing his thumb up and down to help her sleep. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, she was already tired as it was. Eleanor went to put the water she had given him back in the pile of supplies, then she looked over at him. He looked like a true dad, the way he was holding her to him, comforting her, and it made Eleanor smile.

Sofia looked over at him, with concerned face. She was worried that something might be wrong with him. At the same time, she also was worried about something she had on her mind, since before they were even out of Rapture. She knew she had to say something to him, but she also knew that something else may need to be done.

Sofia walked slowly over to Delta, and sat down in the seat beside me. Knowing he had someone beside him, Delta turned his head so he could look at her. The face he was met with, was that of worry, and he was slightly surprised to see this. "What happened?" she asked him in a concerned tone. "I don't know" he said, knowingly lying to her, "maybe that stuff you gave me, had some side effects." He tried giving her a forced smile, to assure her that he was fine, but she didn't fall for it. "I don't think that's what it was" Sofia said to him, unconvinced by what he said, "if it was, it would have happened a while ago. You were also sweating profusely when got over to you."

"I….. just got…. hot I guess" Delta said, trying to lie to her again. "Delta" she said in a rather annoyed tone, "I just had a bad dream, ok Sofia, can you please just stop, I'm tired." he said getting slightly irritated. "What happened" she asked again in the same concerned tone, "what about it could have made you sick?" "I don't….." Delta stammered, "I don't want to talk about it."He turned away from her, with his hand to his face. _I own you. Turn around. Pull the trigger._ All of those words and memories came back to him, and he wished they would just leave him.

Sofia could tell that Delta was distraught, by how he was rubbing his eyes, and breathing heavily. She knew that something would have to be said, in order to coax him out into telling her what was wrong. Eleanor, at this point, was getting very tired again. So, she took her place back on the makeshift bed, and sleepily watched her parents sit there in silence. She didn't know if she needed to say something, or if she needed to stay awake to insure that they wouldn't try hurt each other while she slept. But she was so weary from the day's events, she was asleep a few moments after she put her head down.

Sofia finally realized that the only way that she was going to get through to him, is if she tapped deep into his mind, and found out what was truly bothering him. She finally worked up enough courage, and asked him something he couldn't quite understand. "When we were on the observation deck" she said to him nervously, "after we were done paying our respect, you looked into my eyes, and I felt something. It was a connection that I haven't felt in a long time. Did you fell it too?" Delta looked very anxiously at her, for he didn't know what he could possibly say to her. "Yes" he said in a very unsure voice, "but I don't know why. When I was in Rapture, I hated for everything you had done, and were doing. Yet, when I locked eyes with you for the first time on the surface….. I can't explain it. There is still a part of me that still thinks that you're an evil person, but somehow I'm attracted to you, and I don't even know why."

Delta turned away from her, and let his head hang down. Sofia looked at how confused and depressed he was, and then concluded, he needed to know a truth that she had been keeping secret, for a very long time. "I think I know why" Sofia began, and Delta looked back at her. "I have never told anyone this, but you of all people should know." Sofia took a pause before continuing and turned her face away from Delta's, "I wasn't pregnant with Eleanor when I first got to Rapture." Delta gave her a puzzled look, for he had found evidence that said she was pregnant when she was in Rapture.

"What do you…" Delta tried to ask, but was interrupted by Sofia, "When I came to Rapture, my first initial thought was that for the people there. But as time went on, I began to think of what more I could to help enhance my ideals. Then my thoughts went to having a child, one that would practice my words, even greater then I could." She took a slight pause as a tear snaked down her face, "I had been with men before on the surface, but none of them really cared about me. So I wasn't looking for a relationship, I just wanted what I thought was all I needed. So, some nights, I would go out and see if I could find a suitable man, with enough thing right with him, that I could….. well, you know. None of the men that I saw were half as good as I would have hoped for. They were all same, drunk pigs that were hoping to lucky. But, one night I was out again, hoping that I might be able to find someone decent, but it was just the same. Just as I was about to leave, when I saw him." Delta was confused as to who "he" was, but continued to listen. "He was a handsome man, to say the very least. I had also heard that he had become famous for something, but I didn't know what for at the time, but that not what brought me to him most of all. He had a group of women standing around him, all attracted to what they merely saw on the surface. But then, he looked at me from across the room, and when we made eye contact, something was felt between us. He walked past the group of women that were around him, and came directly to me. He asked me if I wanted a drink, so I said yes. We talked there for a while, had a few more drinks, as I got to know more about him, and I realized then, he was what I was looking for." Sofia took another pause before she went on. "I asked him if he wanted to stay the night with me at the hotel, and then stared at me shocked. He said that he didn't mind waiting, but I told him, he was too good to wait for. So, he paid for a room, and we went upstairs to where it was. He looked really nervous, and I was as well, but when he kissed me, and all of my fears vanished. The night that I had spent with him was the happiest I had ever felt, but I was sad when it ended, because I knew that I couldn't stay with him, even though I could feel he cared about me."

Delta listened on to what Sofia was saying, unsure why she was telling him this, "I left early the next morning, because I didn't want him to get use to me. But, even days after I left him, I still felt him close to me. I guess that I never really got over him, and I wanted to see him again. But, he was nowhere to be found, it was like he'd just vanished." "But Sofia" Delta asked her, "how does this pertain to me?" "It's because" Sofia continued, "I didn't see that man again until New Years Eve 1958." Delta gave her another confused look. "But I didn't realize it was him" Sofia said, "until after I killed you that night." Deltas eyes widened, "Wait, do you mean….." "Yes, Delta" Sofia said wiping a tear from her eye, "You are Eleanor's real father."

Delta was utterly shocked but by what he had just heard, But at the same time, everything was starting to make sense. He just sat there and stared down at Eleanor, not know what he should say. Sofia knew that she had said something that would help explain things to him, but he was still holding his emotions back from everyone. It was then she thought of something that may be able to help him get his emotions out, and help explain his problems. "Come" she said in a very gentle voice, "there's something I think you should do." Without questioning, Delta stood up, with the girls still in his arm, he placed down gently on the mattress, and turned back to Sofia.

"Grab that empty drum, we'll need it." she said pointing to a steel drum in the corner. "But why?" Delta asked her, "You'll see" she said calmly. Delta went to the corner, and picked up the drum, then he turned and followed Sofia outside, into the darkness of night. When they were both outside, Delta set the drum down, and asked Sofia what they were doing. "I know that you have a lot of built up emotions" she said to him in the same calm voice, " I want you, to project all of the built up feeling you have, on that barrel." Delta gave her a weird look and said, "But will this solve anything?" "You'll see, now go ahead." Sofia said to him and pointed to the drum. Delta gave a sigh, but went over to the drum. He looked at it for a few seconds, but decided to go along with it. He gave the drum a slight kick, causing it to push back a slight bit. "Good" Sofia said in a soft but encouraging voice, "now, the next time you hit it, I want you to say what you are angry, or sad about, or anything else."

Delta took in a deep breath, and then hit the barrel with his fist, causing it to tip slightly, "That….. is for locking me up like an animal." He said in a soft slightly angry voice. He kicked it again, but more violent, and it pushed back farther, "That's for making me go through all of that fucking splicing." he said in a very angry voice. He punched it again, sending it a few feet back on its side, "That's for turning me into a fucking monster!" he shouted angrily. He continued on spitting out things he had felt angry about his past, While still violently smacking and throwing the barrel with every single shout. "How could you make me go through all of that god damn pain! You turned me into a mindless freak! You took my humanity from me! How could you do that to anybody!" His eyes were red with anger, but he was not done yet.

"WHY DID YOU TAKE HER FROM?! SHE WAS ALL I HAD!" He screamed while throwing the barrel against the glass dome. Sofia knew he was talking about her, but she didn't say anything, because she knew he had every right to speak out now. The sound of the barrel hitting the glass woke Eleanor, and she sat up to see what it was. She knew the sound was coming from outside, so she got up and went to see what the commotion was. She went to the door that lead outside, she opened it a crack to see what was going on. She didn't know what to make of what she saw, all she saw was her mother standing idly by, while her father was throwing a steel drum around, shouting like a mad man. "I FOUGHT FOR MY LIFE, AND STILL SAW ME AS A MONSTER! YOU SUFFICATED HER, JUST TO KEEP US APART! YOU KIDNAPPED CHILDREN JUST TO TORTURE HER FUTHER! YOU KILLED MY ONLY FRIEND" after he said that, he took the drum and slammed it over his knee, bending it in half. "But worst of all" he said in a more depressed, but still angry tone, " when it was all over, you told she was my real daughter, AND YOU KNEW ALL ALONG! But you still wanted me dead." After he said that , he turned to the ocean, and with a grunt, threw the drum in the ocean. Sofia just looked at him as he panted, she didn't say anything, just watched him with a very sympathetic look. After all that, Delta fell to his knees, making a very loud thud as he hit. He looked down to his hand, they we still slightly trembling, and his finger were curled in with anger. Still panting, he slowly brought his hand to his face, and did the one thing he never thought he should never do. He broke down in tears. He started off weeping softly, but then took in a huge breath, and just completely lost all control in a huge sobbing fit.

Sofia walked over to him slowly, and kneeled at his side, as tears of her own rolled down her face. She placed her hand on his back, "It's ok" she said with a lump in her throat, "you've never had a chance to show your emotions, and it's been eating away at you for so long." He took his hands away from his face, and looked at her with the most miserably sad face you could ever imagine. Without even thinking, he quickly embraced the woman and continued weeping on her shoulder. She slowly put her arms around him, and once again started to rub his back to sooth him. Delta had never done anything like this before, and he defiantly didn't have anyone that had cared for him like this before.

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**Well, we will find out the others reactions. But only when part 9 come out.**


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9: Pain in Realizing

Delta, still crying into Sofia's should, felt like an emotional wreck. He had just recapped on everything in his life that made him feel horrible, and now he had broken down in front of his former enemy. "Why does hurt so much?" he asked between whimpers, "You never had anyone to care for you" Sofia said in a sorrowed tone, as she was crying herself. She knew he had been put through pain in his life, but she never knew how much it was built up inside of him. He had to be strong for the people around him, and he never once thought, that he could be brought to this.

"I guess I'm not as strong as I'd hoped" Delta said to her as he sniffled. Suddenly, Sofia pushed Delta forward so that they faced each other, and looked deep into his eyes, with her hands on his shoulders. "Don't you dare think that for one second" she said to him, "you are the strongest person I have ever known. Not just physically, but mentally. The things you were forced to see, the things forced to do, would have broken anyone else. But you, went beyond that point that most would fall at." Delta sniffed a few times, and then responded to her, "I didn't have a choice, I never did when I got to Rapture."

"The only choice that I ever had" Delta said tearfully, "was the fate of those girls, and those few people. I would never choose to hurt anyone, but I just became a violent, raving lunatic when I was throwing that barrel around." He let his head hang low, tears still dripping from his face. "That wasn't you" Sofia said in a sympathetic tone, "that was the rage that was built up, by all the torment that was forced on you. You never had a chance to release any of it, until now. But now, don't you feel like there's been some pressure lifted off of you?" Delta had realized it before, but he did feel like there had been weight lifted off of him, that he had never even noticed. He lifted his head up, and looked at her again, but no more tears fell from his red eyes. "I do" he said to Sofia, "You've had to be strong for so many people" Sofia said to Delta, "but you have to let your emotions show sometimes, if you don't, it can hurt you physically." she took a pause as they locked eyes again, "If you need someone to talk to, know that you have people who will listen. You have Eleanor, and if no one else, you have me."

Delta let out a sigh, blowing away the rest of the bad feelings he had left. He stood up, and put his hand out to Sofia, who immediately took it, and pulled her up to him. "Thank you, Sofia" Delta said to her, "No Delta" Sofia said to him, "Thank you." Both of them knew it was coming, so they slowly met each other half way for a hug. _I now know why I didn't kill this woman _Delta thought to himself, _I had feelings for her all along, but my mind was so messed up by the splicing, and even my own emotional build up, that didn't realize it. She's given me more than my life back, she's given me my mind back._

Suddenly, there were footsteps heard on the metal of the observation deck. Delta lifted his head off of Sofia's to see what the sound was. It was Eleanor, she was walking toward them, her white dress swaying as the wind blew. Delta tapped Sofia on the back so he could show her what he was looking at. The hug broke off between them, as Sofia turned to face her daughter, both wondering what she was doing, and what she had seen. Both of them looked concernedly at her, for she had a face of pure depression. What neither of them knew, was that Eleanor had heard every word that was said between them from when she first started watching them, including one of Delta's outbursts that had shocked her dearly.

She reached them, and she looked at her mother with the same depressed look. "Mother" she said in a sad, almost inaudible voice, "is that true? You knew all along that he was my real father all along, and you still wanted to kill him?" Sofia merely stared at her daughter for a few moments, then let her head hang slightly, and gave her a slight nod. Eleanor stared at her for a moment, then without so much as a warning, she slapped her mother across the face. It wasn't hard enough to hurt, it was just something done out of spite. Sofia quickly looked up to face her daughter, she didn't appear upset or angry, she just had the same concerned face. Eleanor lightly slapped her mother again, her face still visibly sad. She tried to do it again, but Sofia caught her arm before she came in contact.

Eleanor pulled her arm out of her mother's grip, and started beating her mother's chest with her fists, still not hurting her as she struck. Sofia didn't try to stop her, she just watched as her daughter was venting out all of her frustration on her. With every hit Eleanor did, she became more and more upset. Tears were running down her face, every so often she would give out a small sob. Sofia took her daughter by the shoulders, and pulled her into an embrace. Eleanor didn't embrace her back, or try to push away, but after letting out all of that hidden rage, she herself broke down in her mother's arms.

Eleanor let out very heavy, pained sobs, as her mother held her close to her, holding the back of her head. Sofia felt tears running down her own face, as they both fell to their knees. "I never wanted you to fell this way" Sofia said to her with lump in her throat, "but now, I'm the one who's caused it." Eleanor was listening, but was so caught up in her own emotions, she didn't answer. Sofia felt guilty for everything she had done: She tried to kill the only man she ever loved, she had taken children from their own families, but worst of all, she thought her own daughter hated her now.

Delta looked at the women in front of him, Eleanor had fallen to pieces, and Sofia looked about ready to do the same. Eleanor had been doing the same thing he had, holding in her emotions, and trying to be strong for everyone, but it doesn't work to do it like that. She truly was her father's daughter, and both he and Sofia knew it. Delta stared on, watching his daughter sob into her mother's shoulder, as his newly mended heart was being jerked by the sight. He took a few steps over, and knelt by their side, but neither of them seemed to take notice. He did the only thing he thought might help, so he wrapped his arms around Sofia and Eleanor. _All of these realizations,_ Delta thought to himself, _they do nothing for us, but make us feel worse. But, we must know them, if we ever intend to heal properly._

One of the girls inside was stirring, from chilly air being let in from the open door. She picked herself up into a sitting position, and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She look around the room, and noticed that everybody but the other girls were gone. She took another quick look around, and noticed the open door. She roused all of the other girls, so they could all go out together and see what was going on. They made their way over to the open door, a few of them poked their heads outside, and they weren't sure what to make of the scene they saw. Eleanor, Sofia, and Delta were kneeling on the ground, all of them in an embrace. Eleanor was crying, but not as hard as she was before, as was Sofia, Delta looked sad, but he shed no tears. Delta opened his eyes to see the small girls watching them, and beckoned for them to come over. The girls walked over to where they were, and all of them formed a circle around the small family in a giant huge.

Eleanor had finally calmed after some time, but she still felt terrible. Delta picked his head up, as the girls that were hugging him moved slightly aside. "Eleanor" he said in his deep gentle voice, Eleanor looked to him, her face and eyes red from the tears, "Sofia" he said, and she did the same. " I'm sure the pain you are feeling now, must be close to unbearable.", Eleanor gave him a nod and then sniffled, Sofia also gave him a nod. "But we can't give up now. We are gone physically from Rapture, but it's still a nightmare that haunts us. We will have to work to get where we want to be, and it will not be easy." Eleanor lifted her head up as she still looked at her father, listening to his words. "But, no matter what, we will have each other. I will always be here for either of you, to help guide you when you're unsure, to keep you safe when you're in trouble, or just listen when you need someone to talk to. We must keep our heads high, it's the only way that we can win over the darkness that consumed us before"

Eleanor and Sofia looked at Delta, still holding each other, warmed by what he said. They looked at each other, and both of them smiled. They came back into a loving embrace, and Sofia kissed her daughters forehead. "I'm so sorry Eleanor" Sofia said to her, "It's ok mother" Eleanor responded, "we'll figure it out, and we all will be happy after." Delta gave a little smile of his own. Delta suddenly felt something warm on the back of his head, he turned his head to see what it was, and sure enough, the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. Delta stood up and turned around, as he watched the sun begin to rise, with a smile adorned on his face. Sofia and Eleanor stood up next him on either side, and watched the sun start to come up. The younger girls look on in happiness, amazed to be able to see the sun just barley start to rise. "You see" Delta said, "the night is darkest, just before the dawn." "It's going to be rough work getting through all of this." Sofia said, taking Deltas hand. "But we will be able to do it" Eleanor said, taking her father's other hand. "So long as we have each other" Delta finished. And all of them watched in pure happiness, as the sun rose, on their new life.

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_**To those who strive to build a better life, may peace and happiness be with you as well.**_** And dont woory, we are not quite through yet. So, i'll see you in part 10.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry I havent been able to update, my computer decided to be a douch and tell me I needed to update. But anyway, heres part 10, Enjoy.**

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Part 10: The Morning After

The sun began to rise higher in the sky, as everyone looked on in pure awe. Delta smiled and closed his eyes for a few moments, felling the warmth of the sun on his face. He then looked over to Eleanor, still holding his hand and smiling, while she looked up at him. He took his hand out of Sofia's, and Eleanor let go of his, so they could face each other. Sofia looked over to them, wondering what was going to be said. Delta put his hands on her shoulders, "Eleanor" he said in a very kind voice, "even if you weren't my real daughter, I would love you unconditionally. But now that I know that blood binds us together, it only gives me more reason to love you." Eleanor smiled at the very saying of those words, knowing now, that this man who sacrificed so much for her, was a true father top her.

Delta then turned to Sofia, and just like Eleanor, put his hands on her shoulders. "Sofia" he began after taking a breath, "we have gone through so much, but after all of that, you gave me much more then another chance at life, you gave me my humanity back. That is something that I don't think that I will ever be able to repay." "You already have" Sofia said with a smile. Delta smiled and then turned his attention to the young girls that were standing behind them. "All of you" he said to them gently, " I don't know if you have families to return to or not, but no matter what happens, from here on out, I'll always care for each and everyone of you." Delta knew that a lot of these girls had families of there own somewhere, and they needed to be with them, no matter how much they cared about them.

One of the girls approached him; she had brunette hair, and was dressed in a green dress. It was the one that had curled up beside him early that evening. "Daddy" she said to him in a slightly sad tone, "do you not love us." "No, no" Delta said in a sympathetic tone as he kneeled down to her, "what would make you say that?" "You don't want us to stay" she said tearing up, "No, it isn't like that" he said picking her up and holding her to his chest, "it's just that, a lot of you have your own families that probably miss you, and it's not right if I keep you from them." "But, I don't have a family." She said as she began to cry. What Delta had forgotten was, a couple of the girls were from orphanages, and so they didn't have anybody to return to.

_I can't send them back to nothing,_ Delta thought to himself as he held her trying to calm her down. He knew that a lot of them would have to go back to their families, but for those of them who had no family, they would be theirs. After a little bit of time, he finally was able to get her to calm down, and after that they figured out who had families, and who didn't. Seven of the girls did have families, but that left three that didn't. "It's alright," Delta said in his best reassuring voice, "we will figure this out, no matter what. Like I said, so long as we have each other, we can solve any problem." With that said, everyone was reassured, and they were all happy once more. Suddenly, a loud gurgling noise was heard, all of the girls darted their heads around to see where it was coming from, and they found it.

It was Delta, his stomach was growling. He put his hand over his stomach, and gave them all a sheepish laugh and smile. Eleanor and Sofia just smiled and rolled their eyes, where as the younger girls all giggled at him. "What," Delta said in an embarrassed tone, "I'm not aloud to be hungry?" Sofia and Eleanor snickered at him as they began to make their way inside, the rest of the girls tagging along behind them. Delta stood there for a moment, as he shook his head while he half smiled, and then fallowed them inside. Inside, Sofia and Eleanor were going through the supplies, and managed to come up with a few cans of potted meat and fruit. Delta found a knife and started cutting up the meat into smaller portions, just to make sure that everyone would get enough. Then he cooked each piece individually, through careful use of incinerate (he had spent a lot of time eating straight out of the can, and didn't want to do it anymore).

Eleanor had managed to find enough plates and bowls for everyone, while her mother was busy opening cans of oranges and peaches. She served the fruit out to every one, just in time for Delta to be done with the meat. They didn't have any utensils, but they were content with just eating with their hands. Everyone laughed under their breath at how quickly Delta was eating, but then again you would to, if you had just emptied what little food you had in your stomach out hours earlier. Plus this was the first time in a long time that Delta had actually had a hot meal, and he was happy about it. After finishing up his portions of his meal, Delta glanced around the room, and watched as everyone else talked and ate. It looked to him, like it was a Sunday breakfast with the family, and at that he grinned.

He was still fairly hungry though, but he didn't want to dip further into the supplies, then he remembered he had a little something in one of his pouches. He reached down to one of his pouches, and pulled out a tin of sardines. All of the girls looked at him in a slight bit of disgust as he opened them and started eating them, because they all hated the taste of sardines, but Delta had acquired a taste for them after eating what ever he could in Rapture. "Those stink." said the girl sitting closest to him as she held her nose. Delta just looked at her and smiled while he chewed. Then he heard a sound that was very annoying to him, the sound of someone chewing with their mouth open. He took a glance around and found out who was making the noise, it was Eleanor of all people. "Eleanor, chew with your mouth closed" he said to her, but she didn't even realize she was doing it. She closed her mouth, but then laughed, because she thought she might use that later for something.

Once everyone was finished with their food, Sofia proceeded to pick up the plates to begin to wash them. Seeing this, Delta decided to help her and started to pickup some of the dishes as well. He bent down to get one of the plates off of the floor, but met someone else's hand. He looked up, and sure enough, he had his hand over Sofia's. They both looked at each other, but didn't say a word. Delta could fell his face start to burn, as his pale skin went pink. At the same time, Sofia's face was begging to turn red as well. "I uh, I could do that if y-you wanted me to." Delta said stuttering, "N-No that's ok, I got it." Sofia said in the same awkward style. "But uh, you could bet me some water from outside, s-so I can start cleaning these." She added quickly, "Oh sure" said Delta. He just looked at her for a few moments; then she smiled and said "Delta" "Yes?" he said, "Can I have my hand back please?" He glanced down and noticed that his hand was still over hers. "Oh, sorry" he said as he quickly moved his hand off of hers.

Delta fumbled around looking for a bucket he could use, all the while his daughter watched him, giving him a sly little grin. He finally found one, and then went outside to get some sea water to wash the dishes. He went to the side of the vessel and bent down to fill the bucket. As he was a bout to dip the bucket in the water, when he looked over to the way the direction they were heading, and was overwhelmed by what he saw. In the distance, he could make out faint traces of buildings, they were almost at land. He lifted himself up, and let the bucket fall to his side as his eyes widened. A smile quickly came to his face, and then he called to everyone else inside. "Everyone come out here, you have to see this!" he shouted in happiness. Everyone came rushing outside, and looked to where he was staring, and became overjoyed as well. "We did it!" Eleanor shouted in joy, as the other girls started jumping and shouting in joy. Delta, who was ecstatic at that point, reached for who he thought was Eleanor, and hugged her. But when he looked at who it was, he saw Sofia smiling in his arms, and his face went red. He was about to say something, then Sofia reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, and he completely forgot what he was going to say. He just smiled back at her, as Eleanor watched them giving them that same sly look, and the young girls giggled. Delta and Sofia turned their heads back to the on coming city, for they knew they had work to do.

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**Well, the real funs about to begin, so see you in part 11. please R&R/ Oh, one more thing**, **I was having an argument with my friend not to long ago, a stupid one but an argument never the less. I said that the perfect theme song for Delta was Three Doors Down's "Away From the Sun", but he said Brand New Sin"s "My World" fit better, so you guys decide. OK, thanks.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Once again, I apologize for not updating sooner, but what are you gonna do. Any who, here's part 11, enjoy.**

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Part 11: Men Alike

Delta took control of the bathysphere manually, to insure that they could find a place to dock where no one could find them. He found a place that was extremely run down, it hadn't been used since the 1930s, so the wood was probably pretty rotten. There was a loading dock underneath an old pier, and no one ever came down there anymore. Delta parked the sub so it was tucked underneath the pier, and out of plain sight. Delta went out first to see how sturdy the docking area was, if it could hold his massive girth, the others would have no problem. He took a step onto the dock, and even before he put is full weight on the wooden planks, it started creaking. He hesitated to put the rest of his weight on it, but then carefully place other foot on it. The boards bent and creaked under his massive boots, but it was holding ok.

"Ok, I think it's alright!" Delta shouted to everyone in the cockpit. Sofia was the first one at the door; she put her finger to her lips and shushed him. "We don't need unnecessary attention right now." She said to him, "Oh come on Sofia, no ones down here" he said as she walked up to him. The other girls and Eleanor started to come out of the sub, but Delta quickly made a gesture with his hand for them to stop. "No girls," Delta called to them, "you stay here and watch the sub incase someone come along. We'll going to go up and see if we can find something that can help us with getting started." "What?" Sofia questioned, "You can't be serious about leaving them hear with just Eleanor. What if someone comes down here?" "Sofia" he said to her, "she was going to face the world alone yesterday, I think she'll be fine for an hour with out us."

With that, Sofia gave him a little nod and started to follow him onto the dock. Eleanor gave her father a little glare, it wasn't fair that he was going to see the world first, and she wanted to see it too. Delta glanced over at his daughter, "Eleanor, don't give me that look." He said to her. The glare left her face as she crossed her arms, and gave him a half smile, he really was her father. Eleanor quickly got the girls inside, and after that Sofia and Delta started making their way to the stair that led up to the top of the pier. They didn't know it, but they were in for the surprise of their life.

When Delta and Sofia got to the top of the pier, the first thing they noticed was the large skyscraper not very far away. "Hauntingly similar, isn't it." Delta said to her as they started walking towards the city, "All too much" she responded. After walking a short distance, they finally found a walkway that would lead the to the city. They came along an abandoned building that was connected to the docks, they both thought it may have been a fishery since there were wooden pictures of fish strewn all over it. They crept along the side of the building, to make sure that they couldn't be seen before they came out from behind it. Delta poked his head around the side to see if anyone was there, they didn't want to attract unnecessary attention, and for him, that was going to be very hard.

Fortunately, there was no one around, so they started moving again. Also fortunate for them, was the fact that the city was very close by, the only problem was, they still didn't know where they were. They walked for a short while, and then came upon a sign just outside of the city; it said, "Welcome to Norfolk, Virginia". They both glanced at each other for a second, and kept walking into the city, wonder what awaited them. They were astonished to see that there were almost no people around, and the few that were, were in stores that they passed by. It was still pretty early in the morning, and only a few of the stores were open, one in particular caught their attention though. As they walked by some of the buildings, they started to hear music, but non-like they had ever heard before.

They walked a little further down the sidewalk, and found were the music was coming from, just in time for the song to end. The doors of the store were open so people could walk in easier, and it let them see inside the store, and they were amazed to see so many different items. Radios, television sets, and numerous other electronics were all around the store, and some of the radios were turned on to play the music. They were suddenly startled by a voice over one of the radios, "Good Morning Norfolk," the voice said as they looked over to the radio, "it is Saturday April 12, 1969, the weather report for today calls for it to be at a high of 71 degrees, possible clouds rolling in, but a perfect day to get the family out and about. Now, lets get back to what you want to hear, and hears on of my favorites. Slightly old but still good, Walk like a Man."

Then the music started to play, it was definitely different from what the two had heard before. Delta actually enjoyed the new music being played; he started swaying his shoulders, partially dancing to it. Sofia on the other hand, was a little uneasy about it. She looked over at him, and just snickered as she put her hand to her face at the sight of his partial dancing. He didn't notice, until he looked at her laughing at him, and then stopped in embarrassment. "I thought we weren't trying to draw attention to ourselves." She said to him in a laughing fashion, and then they were off again, him now embarrassed. Eventually they found what they were looking for, a pay phone. "This is useless," Sofia said to Delta as he flipped through the phone book, "we don't even know if he's in this city, let alone this country." "Aha," he exclaimed pointing into the phone book, "I found it." Sofia looked to where he was pointing, "Oh come on, that's probably not even him." "It's worth a shot, we don't have any other leads. Lets just go to the address, and see if it's him." Reluctantly, she agreed to follow him. After about ten minutes of searching, they found the house they were looking for, and went up to the doorstep of the Ryan residence.

Jack sat in his easy chair, reading his paper, enjoying the early morning silence. His life was not always so enjoyable, the puncture marks and chains on his wrists reminded him of that daily. The only good thing that came out of everything he had to do in Rapture was the five girls that he had rescued, and in turn rescued him. They were still sleep upstairs, as they often did on Saturdays. He never did understand how teenage girls could sleep so late, but enjoyed being able to have some time to alone. He read in the paper about more troops that were killed in Vietnam. He often over looked these articles, because he hated the idea of fighting, yet understood why they did it. Just as he was about turn the page, he heard a knock at the door. He folded his paper, put it on the arm of his chair, and then walked to the front door, wondering who could be at his house this early in the morning.

He unlocked the door and opened it, only to be met by a gigantically framed man in a strange looking outfit. "Can I help you, sir?" Jack asked in a very uneasy tone, with a look to match it. "Are you Jack Ryan?" the man asked him. "Yes I am." Jack said in the same uneasy fashion, "Thank god," the man said letting out a sigh of relief, "listen, you're the only one who can help us." Jack gave the man an odd look, and then took a glance over the man's shoulder. He noticed a woman standing behind him, looking very anxious. "Sir, I think you have me mistaken for someone else, now good day to you." He said as he began to close the door. The mans arm shot out and stopped the door from closing, and then spoke, "We just came from Rapture." Jack didn't say a word; his eyes just grew wide, as he swung the door back open.

Jack quickly ushered them into his living room and had them sit down. As both of them sat down on the couch, it creaked under Delta's weight. Jack paced violently in front of them, running his hands through his hair, and with a concerned look on his face. Then he turned and spoke to them with a hint of anger in his voice, "Alright, you two have a lot of explaining to do, so get to it." The two looked at each other, and then turned to him as they began to spin the reel of their tale. They told him everything. They told him about Delta's death, his resurrection, his traveling through Rapture, Sofia's roll in his travels, his doings in the various parts of Rapture, the part that his friend Augustus Sinclair played, the rescuing of his daughter, and the return to the surface.

Jack stood there, wide eyed as he listened to what was said about the man, relating to him in so many ways. There was, however, one question that he had constantly been thinking about during the discussion, and he finally asked it. "Your little sister, why do you continue to call her your daughter even after you're free?" "Because she is my daughter" Delta said to him. "That's impossible, that would mean that you and her would have…" he started to say, but then gave them a very shocked look. They then realized they hadn't told him that part of the story, and proceeded to do so. After hearing that part of the story, Jack was still shocked. "You sir, truly have a heart like that of pure gold." He said to him in a sympathetic tone, and Delta gave him slight smile. Jack sighed as he scratched his head, "Look," he started, "if all of this is true, then we need to get rid of any evidence of your arrival. Then… I think I can help you get in the right area to start your new life. Upon hearing that, immediate looks of relief and hope came to both Sofia's and Delta's face.

"Dad" said a groggy female voice from the top of a flight of stairs. Jack went to the stairs and looked to see his oldest at the top of the stairs. It was seventeen-year-old Marsha (the first little sister he rescued in Rapture) she stood there in her nightgown, hair a mess, as she rubbed one of her eyes. "Dad, what's going on, who's here?" she asked him, "I have to go out for a little while, you can go back to sleep, but if I'm not back by the time you get back, your in charge OK" he hastily said to her. She hesitated at first, but the look in his eyes was that of confidence, so she agreed and went back to bed.

Jack beckoned for Sofia and Delta to follow him out to his garage. When they got to it, Delta showed a sudden interest in the vehicle he saw. Sofia quickly broke him from the daze, and motioned for him to get into the truck. He got in after Sofia tucked her self into the middle seat, and waited for jack to enter. They took a look back to see what Jack was doing, and were quiet confused by the sight. Jack was loading up a couple of large blanket like tarps, a few canisters of gasoline, and a few objects they couldn't make out. What was he planning to do once they got there?

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**Disclaimer: All respective dates in time are not in acorrdance with anything in particular. References to certian thing, are also traced to their respective owners. I don't own any of the music mentioned in this chapter, but I do know that the date said was an actual time. Also, to anyone who lives in said city, respect to you. Now lets sit back, relax, and wait for part 12.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry about the recent time of no updates, I've been have a bit of a writers block. Any way, here's Part 12**

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Part 12: Hell of the Past

Jack started up his truck, and drove off to where Delta and Sofia had told him they'd come from. As they were driving, Delta took a look outside the window, seeing more people start to open up different stores. "You guys mind music?" Jack asked them, they just looked at him and shook their heads. With that, Jack turned a small knob on the radio, and it started to play music. "_What you want…baby I got it…What you need…Do you know I got it?_" sang the woman over the radio, which Sofia seemed to enjoy. She didn't show it like Delta did, who seemed to show no reaction to the music, she just smiled and listened on. "Seems like something Grace would've liked." Delta said as he looked out the window, observing the building going by. One caught his attention again, it was very big, and had a huge sign adorning the front, it said, "Coming this September, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid."

"What's that?" Delta asked Jack while he pointed at the building. Jack took a glance over, "That's a movie theater," he replied putting his eyes back on the road, "a place where you can go watch motion pictures of recently produced films. I don't usually watch a lot of movies though." Delta raised his eyebrows in a knowing fashion, and then went back to watching the scenery go by. After a few more minutes of driving, they finally arrived at the dock that Sofia and Delta said they came from. Before they got out though, jack turned to them and looked very deeply at them, "You had better be serious about this, or you will regret it, do you understand?" Both them just gave him bewildered and scared nods, "Good" he said in a slightly less tense tone, and then opened his door to get out. They didn't know it at the time, but he had packed a few other things with him when they left, namely his old shotgun and his wrench. Both of them got out, and then circled around to the side of the truck he was at. "So, what are we going to do?" Sofia asked Jack, "It's a little tricky," jack said as he was reaching into the back, "but I do have a plan."

Back down at the bathysphere, many of the younger girls were becoming restless. So to help calm them down, Eleanor decided to tell the girls the rest of the story of her past. "So after a little while of walking, we came into this room, and it had small table in it with light beaming down on it. They had taken him somewhere else, and told me that he was going to be joining us in a short while. They told me to lie down on the table, but I didn't want to at first. One of them said to me 'it's alright, we aren't going to hurt you, and you won't feel a thing'. It gave me a slight bit of reassurance as I walked up to the table, and then one of them picked me up and laid me down on it. The table was almost the perfect size for me, only it was slightly longer, and I was resting my head on a piece of what felt like foam. They turned on the lights; they were so bright that I squinted my eyes. I turned my head a little, and a man was holding a mask close to my face, he told me it was going to make me go to sleep. Just as he put the mask over my face, I heard the door open, and I lifted my head a little to see what it was. They wheeled in a bed, and I could see who it was, and it was him again. He looked a little different, because they completely shaved his head and face." Some of the girls giggled at the thought of that, and Eleanor just continued on. "He looked over at me, he still looked very tired, and then his eyes got wide. He lifted himself up very weakly and said, 'please, do what you want with me, but don't do anything to that child.' One of the doctors said to sedate him, and then one went over and put a needle in a tube in his arm. A few seconds after he injected it, his head fell back to his bed and he fell asleep, and then they wheeled him off to another room. I then heard a hissing noise, I looked over at the doctor, and he told me to breath deeply. As I started inhaling, I got dizzy, and then the next thing I knew I was asleep."

There were then footsteps heard over the top of the dock, they could hear it because the door to the bathysphere was open. Eleanor immediately darted to the door to see if someone was coming. "Who's there?" Eleanor called out to the footsteps. "Its only me" A voice said from the stairs that led to the top of the dock, and Eleanor immediately recognized it as her mothers and let out a sigh of relief. Eleanor stepped outside to see her mother approaching the sub, and then began to walk to her. "Where's father?" Eleanor asked as she and her mother finally met face-to-face, "He's up top," Sofia said to her, "He's preparing something to help our escape with Mr. Ryan." "Mr. Ryan?" Eleanor queried.

On the top, Delta and Jack broke into the fish processing plant near the dock. "So what's the plan?" Delta asked Jack, "There's no way this is going to go unnoticed," Jack replied, "So, we've got to make this look like an accident." He turned to a very old machine, which had a lot of old steel drums around it. "Perfect," said Jack, " these old fish processors, they ran off of oil. When this place got abandon, they left a lot of barrels of oil behind. Under the right conditions, they could blow up. We just need to add a few more accelerants to the mixture, to make sure that nothing gets left behind." Delta just gave him a stare that consisted of shock and confusion, and then finally spoke to him, "Well, how the hell are we going to do that?" Jack gave him a mischievous grin, "Well, I didn't pack all of that stuff for show." Jack went back out side for a few seconds, and then came back with a canister of gasoline, and 5 fragmentation grenades.

Jack handed the gas to Delta and told him to speed it around the machine and barrels. While he was doing that, Jack placed the grenades in a few special areas around the barrels. Once Jack was done placing the grenades, he turned to Delta and let out a sigh. "I don't quite get you." He said to Delta, "What?" Delta asked, "I don't understand how you could forgive that woman so quickly." Jack started, "I mean for gods sake, she killed you once, and almost did it again. If I were you, I wouldn't be forgiving so quickly." Delta starred at him for a few moments and then answered him, "I respect your opinion, but there is a reason as to why I'm doing this." He took a momentary pause and went on, "When I was in Rapture, just like you, I didn't have much choice of anything. The choices that I did have though, were that of people's lives. Life is the greatest gifts in the world. When I was given a choice to forgive someone, I always did, because I want to show that there is good in this world. True, she did take my life, an again made another attempt on my life, but forgave her. Why? Because I don't want my past to cloud my future. I will always remember what happened there, but if you can't let go of your past, how can you move forward. I chose to forgive her not just for my sake, but hers, Eleanor's, and of those children." Jack just stood there in awe; he was amazed at the actual reasoning behind this. "I'm sorry" Jack apologized, "I guess may own experience with people has left me untrusting." "There's no reason to apologize Jack," Delta said, "You've just had a rough experience like me, but you hardly had anyone from your past to rely on. I mean, your own father had you kill him, and then you find out your life is a lie. I don't blame you for being untrustworthy." Jack gave him a small grin, and then both of them walked back outside to begin part two.

Sofia and Eleanor started to make their way back up the stair, with the girls in tow. Sofia took a little time to explain where they were going, and what they were doing before leading them upstairs. "So what are they doing?" Eleanor asked, "I'm not quite sure, but I think it will be dramatic." Sofia answered. When Eleanor got to the top of the pier, she was immediately wide eyed at the sight of the city. "Good lord" were the only words that could escape her lips, for there were few she could think of do describe it. As the other girls got to the top, the sight too wowed them. "Yes, it really is something to behold, isn't it?" Sofia said as she watched the girls look on at the city. Just then two sets of footsteps were heard, and all of them turned their heads to see who it was.

They saw Delta walking backwards, pouring gas generously on the dock. Another man, who had another tank of gas, was following him and had six grenades tucked under his arm. Delta turned his head slightly and saw he was about to walk into Eleanor. "Oh right," he said and then cleared his throat, "Mr. Ryan, this is my daughter Eleanor." He made a gesture toward Eleanor. "Hello sir," she greeted him, "it's a pleasure to meet you." "The pleasure all mine," he said in a hasty fashion, "but if you'll excuse us, we need to get this done quickly." "Get what done?" Sofia asked. "You'll see soon enough." Delta responded, "Ok, you guys get in the truck, but the girls and Eleanor are going to have to hide down in the back." Jack quickly said. Sofia and the girls quickly got to Jacks truck, then he and Delta made their way down to the bathysphere, with Delta pouring the gas all the way down. When they got down to the bathysphere, Jack told Delta to pour the next canister of gas all along the inside of the vessel. Delta and Jack made their way inside the bathysphere, Delta poured the gas everywhere, and Jack once again began placing grenades in spots he thought would be appropriate for a perfect explosion.

"So how do you know this thing will blow up good enough to destroy all of it?" Delta asked Jack, "Well, with the combination of the gas, the grenades, the oil, and the fuel these bathyspheres run off of, I can guarantee there will be one hell of an explosion." Delta decided that he was probably right, and then emptied the rest of the gas. They made their way back upstairs, as Delta gave one final look at it, before it was blown to hell.

Back at the truck, Sofia was helping Eleanor load the children into the back of the truck. Once they were all loaded in, Eleanor got in herself, and then Sofia started draping the other trap over them. Before she put the rest of the tarp on, she spoke to Eleanor, "No matter what you hear, keep yourself down, and don't let any of the other girls get up either. When we get to where we need to be, I will come around and pull up the tarp myself. Do you understand?" Eleanor nodded her head, and then Sofia put the tarp down and got in the truck herself. Just as she got in, Jack and Delta had finally made it to the truck. Delta got in and shut the door, and then looked at Sofia with an unsure look. There was a lot going through his mind, but one thing he found he was asking himself was, _What if Jack's right?_ "What's wrong?" Sofia asked him, "Nothing," he replied, "just a little apprehensive." Just after he said that, Jack jumped into the truck and shut his door. He looked to Delta and said, "Ok, light it." Delta nodded and stuck his head out the window.

He looked out and saw a small puddle of gas, he stuck his hand out, and with a flick of his wrist, a small flame appeared in the gas. It took a second to light, but then it took of down a trail of laid down gasoline. "It's lit" Delta said as he pulled his head back into the window. Once he heard the words, Jack press the peddle to the floor and they took off down the road. "Alright, it should be about ninety seconds before that thing blows." Jack said tensely. The fire started snaking down the trail of gas, managing to stay lit as it made its way to the drums of oil, and down to the bathysphere. The heat from the burning wood and gasoline started to make the grenades and oil drum bulge.

Jack decided to take a more scenic route back, because he knew that nothing was more suspicious then a car driving away from an accident. As they were approaching the ninety-second mark, Delta began to get worried. "Are you sure that this things going to work?" Delta asked Jack. Almost immediately after he asked, a very loud explosion was heard. Delta looked back, and he saw a very large cloud behind them, and he knew what it was from. Jack then replied to him in a very sarcastic tone, "You know, I just don't know."

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**Well, once agian any mentioning of songs goes to the respective own. I'm going to write a prequel to this, so next time your in look for my new story, Saving Them.**


	13. Chapter 13

OK, here we go with another one. Not much special about this one. But enjoy never the less. I just used it to introduce some new characters.

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Part 13: Meet the Family

Jack drove his truck down the dirt road, trying not to hit the bumps in the road so fast. When ever he would come to a large hole in the road, he would slow down to ensure that no one in the back would get launched up and hurt. In the distance, all of them could hear the sounds fire truck, and police sirens. Thankfully, Jack knew the area well enough to plan out a route home without being spotted by too many people.

As they were driving down the road, the music from the radio cut out, saying they had an urgent news bulletin. "We have just received word that there has been some form of explosion near an abandon fish processing plant, just outside of the city of Norfolk Virginia. Local officials are currently responding to this incident, but we will update this story as soon as possible." "Thank you sir, but we won't be needing those updates." Jack said as he shut the radio off. Sofia and Delta were both on edge at the moment, having just witnessed the one of the biggest thing in their lives. "Hey," Jack said to them trying to get their attention, "don't worry about it. They won't be able to find out it was us, any tacks we didn't cover just got blown to hell." They could tell he was trying to ease the tension by the way laughed at the last part. Sofia just smiled and shook her head, but Delta was still a little lost in thought.

There were a few things going around his head, but the biggest one was how was he going to adapt to this new world. All of his previous memories had been whipped out, and all his new memories consisted of killing and a life of hell. He looked down at his hand, and saw that symbol, mocking him for what he once was. He hated that thing so much, but then he thought of something. His eyes glanced over at Jacks wrists, and saw those signature chain tattoos. He couldn't help but feel some sort of connection between the two marks, like they showed something special about both of them. Jacks chains symbolized his slavery, yet he was able to break it, and become his own man. His marks represented the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet, but Delta also symbolized change. He had brought change, and in a way, he had a partial sense of pride over it.

After a few more minutes of driving, Jack finally got back on a paved way. He drove fast down the paved road, because he knew there would be less of a chance of bumps. In the back of the truck, Eleanor was telling the girls to keep their heads down. They were growing curious over all the noise they were hearing, but Eleanor didn't want to take that risk of one of them being seen, or getting hurt. The ride that they took back to the house took almost twice as long as the one from it, but Jack wasn't going to take chances.

They finally got back to the house, arriving from the opposite direction that they left. Jack didn't bother trying to back the truck in, he just wanted to get inside, and maybe calm down for a second. The second he got into the garage, he parked it and shut the vehicle off. He quickly got out of the truck, then went to the front of the garage, pulling the door down as fast as he could, and then locked it. Delta and Sofia got out next, and Sofia went to the back of the truck and lifted up the tarp to see the girls inside. After seeing Eleanor, she quickly pulled up the rest of the tarp, and all of them got out.

Inside of the house, there was a little bit of activity going on in the kitchen. There was a teenage girl, about the age of 16, blonde hair, and green eyes which were adorned with glasses. She was standing there in the kitchen, dressed in flannel pajamas, pouring herself a bowl of cereal. She put the milk away, and picked up her bowl to go into the living room. Just as she put the spoon in her mouth, she heard the door that led to the garage open. Instinctively, she turned her head to see what was going on, but she wasn't expecting what she saw.

Jack came into his house facing into the garage, making a beckoning motion with his hand. He turned around, and jumped slightly at the sight of the girl. "Jesus, Sam you almost gave me a heart attack." "Dad, what are you doing?" she asked with partially chewed food still in her mouth. "Let's just say we have visitors. I'll tell you the rest when the rest of the girls come downstairs, just go eat your breakfast for now." She just stood there for a moment, and then chewed once before slowly swallowing. She then tilted her head to the side a little to see over his shoulder, and caught sight of a person with a very large frame. Her eyes widened a bit, but she turned and walked away, unsure about what was going on. Jack let out a small sigh, and turned his attention to the people behind him. "OK," he said to them uneasily, "go inside and take a seat in the living room. Don't mind Samantha, she's usually the earliest riser. But don't say anything yet, I want the rest of the girls down here to hear this so they all know whats going on." They all just nodded, and Jack went off into his house.

Sofia and Delta had already seen some of the inside, and were fairly familiar with what little they saw before. They led they girls inside into the living room, were Eleanor was first to walk in. In the spacious room, she saw a girl, probably no older then she was, sitting there eating a bowl of cereal. Samantha turned her head to the side to see the girl starring at her. She was wearing nothing but a plain white dress, and she looked to be about the same age she was. "Hello" Eleanor said to her trying to force a smile, "Hi" Sam said back to her after she swallowed another bite. Just then Delta and the rest of the party walked in behind Eleanor. Samantha's eyes widened at the sight of the gigantic man standing next to the woman. Eleanor turned her head around slightly and saw the rest of them standing behind her. She quickly put her head back to face the girl, "Oh right, my name is Eleanor, and these are my parents." Samantha's eyes went back to normal, but she still couldn't help but stare. "My name's Samantha, and by the looks of things, you've already met my dad." she responded after an awkward pause.

Eleanor took a seat on the couch next to Sam, and Sofia took a seat right next to her. Delta looked for a place to sit, and found a small two seated couch, and plopped himself down in it. The thing creaked a little under his weight, but not very much. All of the younger girls gathered in a small circle on the floor in front of the coffee table. At this point, Samantha's curiosity was getting the better of her, "So who are you people, and what are you doing here?" she asked them. Just then, the sound of footsteps coming down stairs was heard, "If you wait just one second longer, I think he won't mind telling you." Delta said to her.

Jack was the first one to enter the room from the staircase, followed by four other girls. Two of them had brunette hair, one other had blonde, and the last was a red head. The oldest one, that being Marsha, had long brunette hair and blue eyes. The other brunette had slightly short hair and had brown eyes. She was the youngest of the group, only being fifteen, and her name was Katie. The other blonde, was about the same age as Samantha, but her hair was the longest of the group, going slightly more then a quarter of the way down her back. Her eyes were blue, and her name was Victoria. The final girl, that being the red head, was the same age as Katie and Sam, and had the shortest hair. Her eyes were green, and her name was Erica.

"Dad, what's so important that you had to wake us up?" asked Victoria, Jack answered back by just pointing to the group of people sitting in the living room. All of the teenage girls starred starred at them with confusion, "Hello" they all said to them. Delta and the rest greeted them. "Dad, are these the people who were here earlier?" Marsh asked, "Well, some of them." Jack answered. "Look this is no offense to anyone here," said young Katie, "but what are you doing here? And where did you come from?" Delta looked at Jack, "Do you wanna tell them?" he asked, "Sure, I can do that." Jack responded. Jack turned himself so he could face all of the girls, and then inhaled deep, for it was going to be a long story.

Jack began to tell the girls about what was going on, where they were from, and why they came here. The whole time that he was talking, Delta found himself constantly glancing over at the red headed girl. She was bringing up a not so old memory (look at the prequel _Saving Them_ if you don't know what I mean). After nearly an hour of explaining, Jack was almost done with talking to them. "So right now, they are going to be staying with us for the time being. They need our help to get the ball rolling, so do whatever you can to help them out, OK?" The girls just stared at him in amazement and shock, "God, that's even weirder then our story." said Erica, after she said that Jack Glared at her. "Uh, no offense guys." she apologized to them, "None taken." said Sofia.

Jack looked up at a clock on the, and his eyes got slightly bigger. He walk over to the coffee table and picked up a small rectangular device. He pointed the small device at a television set, and then pressed a button on the thing. The television sprang to life. Sofia, Eleanor, and Delta were all mystified by what happened, for they had never seen something like this. They had questions, but they held them in once they heard a voice over the TV. "Good Morning, This is the early morning news." a man said sit behind a desk on the set. "Our top story today, an explosion near the city of Norfolk Virginia. Currently, firemen and police officers are at the scene trying to bring some order to the area. Earlier when we asked about the explosion, the police had this to say." the image on the screen cuts to a man holding a microphone to a police officers face. "At this point we do know what has caused this explosion. Barrels of left over oil were abandon in this warehouse, and the heat of a fire can cause the barrels to explode when the pressure is high enough." Everyone watched in silence as to what the police officer would say next, so far everything was going according to what Jack planned. A bead of sweet went down Jacks head, he was very nervous as to how the story was going to go. The officer continued after talking to one of his superiors, "After speaking with the sheriff, we have now concluded that this fire was not an attempt at arson." Jack, as well as everybody else in the room let out a sigh of relief.

"But how can you be sure that this was an accident?" the reported asked him, "There are no signs of any accelerators, no signs of any ignition sources, but most of all sir, there is no reason to blow up an abandon fish processing plant. There is no gain from it." "Do you think that this may have been a form of protest against the Vietnam war, or maybe another form civil protest?" Jack Clicked the TV off, "Oh shut up about Vietnam already." he said in an annoyed tone. "Vietnam?" Delta asked, "It's a country that our troops are fighting in right now, I'll tell you more about it later." Delta just nodded his head. "OK," Jack started again, "that's taken care of. Now we got other work to do, but right now lets take a second to calm down a bit. So make yourselves at home, and I'm gonna start breakfast. Does anyone want coffee?" Delta lifted his hand as a form of yes, and Sofia did as well. "OK, I'm gonna get stared. Are you guys hungry?" Jack asked again, the group just looked at each other and shook their heads.

"You know Eleanor," said Katie, "once everything's straightened out, I could show you a lot of stuff around here. I could even get you some nice clothes if wanted too." Eleanor smiled slightly, "Yeah, that sounds like fun." "Groovy" Katie said and went into the kitchen with the rest. "Groovy?" Sofia asked in a confused manner. "It's teen slang," Jack shouted from the kitchen, "it's how they say great or nice." Sofia and Delta looked at each other in a confused way, this place was definitely going to be hard to get used to.

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**Well, that will do it or now. Stay tuned for Part 14**


	14. Chapter 14

Part 14: For what I Missed

"How do you take your coffee?" Jack asked from the kitchen, "Black's fine." Delta said from his seat in the living room. "If you have any milk, I'll have some of that with it." Sofia said, "You got it." Jack said from the kitchen. Samantha and Eleanor decided to find a few toys for the younger girls to play with. Sam went into a closet, and came back out with an old basket of toys she and the other girls had when they were kids. All of the girls looked through the various toys inside of the basket, each one taking out something they thought was interesting. Delta noticed that one of the girls was playing with a strange looking device. It was a flat red rectangle, and it had little knobs on the front. Every time she turned one of the knobs, a little line would appear and go in a different direction. When she shook the thing, the lines would disappear.

Jack came into the living room with two mugs in his hands. He set on on the coffee table in front of Sofia, and she thanked him. Jack then set the other mug on a small table next to where Delta was sitting, "You don't have to do this Jack." Delta said to him. "Don't worry about it," Jack said to him in a reassuring voice, "it's the very least I can do. God knows it was hard enough for me to get started here, you guys don't need to go through all of that." Delta gave him a thankful smile, and Jack returned it. "So like I said before," Jack said, "make yourselves at home. If you need anything, just ask. I'm gonna feed the girls, but you can make yourselves comfortable." After that, he walked back into the kitchen. Delta took a long drink from his mug, and then let out a content sigh. He couldn't remember the last time he had hot coffee. All of the thermoses of coffee he found in Rapture were lukewarm or just plain cold.

Sofia sat on the couch, sipping from her mug. Delta looked at her for a few moments, as the gears in his head were still shifting. He had things that he wanted to say, but this was neither the time or the place for the thing he was thinking about. Samantha reached up to the coffee table, and grabbed the small rectangular device Jack was using earlier. She hit on of the buttons, and the TV came back to life. Before any of them could hear what was being said on the set, she was quickly flipping through the channels. When she stopped, it was on a show that none of out new comers had ever seen before. Samantha quickly explained that the show was about a group of mountain people, who got rich and moved to a place called Beverly Hills.

All of them just sat there watching, Samantha in just a regular fashion, where as everyone else in the room was astounded by it. Just then, something really funny happened over the show, which caused Sam, Eleanor and the younger girls to laugh. Sofia, still holding her mug, put her hand over her mouth to help suppress her laugh. Delta, who was taking a drink of his coffee, laughed while he was drinking. It almost caused the coffee to come up his nose, which burned like hell, but he couldn't help but laugh. One thing that made Delta happy though, was to hear Eleanor laugh, for the first time in who knows how long.

After a short while, Jack came back in the room. He looked directly down at Sam, "I see you've been showing our guests some of the new television, huh." he said to her. She just smiled to him and nodded. "Well, since they are still eating, you can go in the bathroom first." he said, she nodded and headed upstairs. Jack turned his attention back to Delta and Sofia, "Okay," he began, "I do have a bit of a plan. I still have copies of certain papers that we need to get all of you integrated into the system. Once we do a little of that, we can go and get you guys some needed essentials." "That's a good idea." Delta said agreeing, "Although, I think you guys are going to have to do that. I have a bit of an essential project of my own." "And what's that?" Jack asked. "I gotta get this damn suit off." Delta said looking over the entire suit. "Alright, that's a good idea." Jack said quoting him, "Are you going to need anything for that?" "Yes I will actually." Delta said back to him, "I'm gonna need a pair of scissors, a knife, a screwdriver, some soap, and quite possibly a lot of gauze."

For a while, things went on as normal (or as normal as things could get at that point). Jacks girls finished their breakfast, and all of them went upstairs to start their day. Upstairs, the rest of them could hear a small argument over who was going in the shower next. Jack just let out a sigh and laughed. "Okay," Jack said to them, "I'll go get the things you need," he said pointing at Delta, "and then you and I can get started with some of that paper work." he finished pointing at Sofia. Jack went off into another part of the house again, and told Delta to wait in the kitchen. Delta pushed himself off of the small couch, and lumbered into the kitchen.

When Delta got into the kitchen, he saw Jack had already set out a few of the things he needed. Jack then came back into the kitchen with the last thing he needed, a large roll of gauze. "OK," Jack said to him, "I'll make sure that no one comes in there while your doing this. I know that that's probably going to be pretty delicate." Jack turned to leave, but Delta called out to him. "Hey Jack," Delta said, causing Jack to turn around, "thank you... for everything." Jack went up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey," Jack said to him making eye contact, "don't worry alright. I'm gonna help you guys through all of this. You've done a lot, and we all need help sometimes." This made Delta smile slightly, and Jack returned it to him. After that Jack left into another room, leaving Delta to do his work.

He picked up the knife on the counter, and held out his left arm. He poked a small hole in the thick cloth on the upper part of his arm. He put the knife back on the counter, and picked up the scissors. He put the tip of the scissors into the small hole, and started to cut down. "Ow" he said in pain as part of the point from the scissors poked into his skin. He went on cutting, and cut out a neat square of the cloth. The skin he saw under it, was almost a ghostly white and completely hairless. He cut more of the material away from his forearm, until the only thing that was left was the tube for his IV, and the port for the IV. Delta held out his let arm, and carefully used his thumb and forefinger of his right hand to get a hold of the small port. He gave a very small pull on the thing, and immediately cringed in pain. It was going to be hard to get this little thing out.

He took in a deep breathe, and started to pull on the thing again. As the port was being pulled further out of his arm, he fought back the urge to curse from the pain. But after about two minutes of working at the thing, he finally got it out. Blood started beading from the hole in his arm, and he immediately wrapped it in the gauze. He took a look at the small thing, and it was no wonder it hurt to get it out. The end of the needle was barbed at the tip, sort of like a fishing hook. He put the thing in the sink, and then went on working. He picked up the bottle of liquid soap, and spread it all around his wrist. He then started to pull at the glove on his left hand, but the glove was nearly skin tight. After about another minute of pulling, he finally got the glove off his hand. He wiggled his fingers around, touching the tips to his palm. His own skin felt unnatural to him, like it was his but it didn't fell like it was his. He flipped his hand over, and one the back of his hand was something he didn't expect. That symbol was still there, like it was a scar or a tattoo or something. It would always remain with him, much to his disappointment. But in a way, it would always be a reminder to him. Of how he was able to do everything, and still have something after all of it. He then proceeded to do the same with his other hand and arm, and made quicker work of it then before, only his right hand didn't have the symbol his left did.

He looked down to his waist and noticed his dive belt. He reached down and unfastened it, and he dropped it on the counter. As he dropped it, one of the back pouches opened and something slipped out. He saw something sticking out of the back pouch, still half inside of it. He pulled the small device out of the pouch, and gave it a look over. It was made out of a gray plastic, and look slightly like one of the many audio logs he found in rapture, only this one was half that size. The small recorder also only had three buttons; play, stop, and rewind. Just above where the speaker was, there was what appeared to be words crudely etched by a knife, it said _lullaby_.

An old memory came back to Delta, one that was before his resurrection.

"Wake up now." he heard a herd a stern male voice say. He opened his eyes slowly, but his vision was blurred and he couldn't see properly. His vision cleared slightly, and he noticed two figures standing over him, he didn't know he was laying down. "Are you awake in there?" he heard a calmer voice say. He moaned slightly, but his voice felt different to him. "Ah good, it appears to have worked." said one of the voices again, "Now, stand up." Unwillingly, he complied and put himself into a sitting position. His vision was clear now, and he could see that he was in some sort of hospital room. He couldn't remember anything, not even his own name, and his body felt heavier then usual. He spun himself to the left, and then stood shakily on the floor. He looked up and someone was staring at him right in the face. "Good, good" he said as if he wasn't there, "he appears to have recovered from his recent showing sir. I think he's ready to start." "Excellent" said a voice beside him, he turned his head to see a man he would later know as, Dr. Alexander. "Please, come over here." he said to him making a motion with his hand. He groggily lumbered over to him, and saw a table with a few items on it next to him. "Now, your gatherer should be here any moment," Gil said to him, these items will help aid you through your rounds of gather during the night." Gil pointed to the table and he looked at it. On the table there were two large vials, one with a red substance, and the other with a blue substance. The other was a small recorder device.

"Now, turn around and we will attach them." Gil told him, and he unconsciously obeyed. He attached the vials to his back, and slipped the recorded into his back pouch. "These vials contain your EVE and medical fluids, there are devices on your gloves that activate them." He gave him a quick briefing of how to activate the fluid control mechanisms. "As for the recorder," Gil said to him, "our first gatherers had trouble getting used to being attacked, and then going back to working. So, to help maximize productivity, we have given you a special recording of soothing music. Should the child become unwilling or scared, simply play that recording, and the music will calm them down. Do you understand?" He gave him a half knowing nod.

The sound of a door opening caught Dr. Alexander's attention. "Ah good, she's here. Let's see if the bond works." He turned his head to where Gil was looking and noticed a small child being led into the room by what appeared to be a nurse. The girls skin was a sickly pale, as opposed to her hair, which was very black. She had on a simple gray dress, with tiny shoes that matched it. Her hair was tied back into two braids, but the most noticeable feature about her, were her glowing yellow eyes. He didn't know why, but he felt a strange feeling for this girl, like she was his responsibility. He didn't know how right he was. "Daddy?" she said to him uneasily, but he didn't try to say anything back. He knelt down and put his arms out, like he was inviting her to him for a hug. Her face lit up with a smile, and she rushed to him. When they finally met, they full heatedly embraced one another.

Delta was snapped back to reality when he heard the sound of someone coming in.

He quickly hid the recorder underneath his dive belt. He turned around and saw Eleanor standing in the doorway, as if she was watching him the whole time. She smiled at him, and he returned it to her. She walked up beside him, and sat on the counter top. "How's it going?" she asked him, "Painful in some parts, but otherwise alright. It's just weird to actually have skin now." he told her, both of them laughed a little. He then ran his eyes down her thin arms, and noticed something. He had noticed it before, but before he wasn't in a position to talk about it. Now that thew two of them were alone, he talk to her about it.

The smile left his face, and he let out a sigh before speaking. "Eleanor..." he said with a hint of sadness in his voice, "you haven't been good to yourself." Eleanor gave him a confused look, "What do you mean?" "I think you know." he said as he motioned with his eyes to her wrists. On her wrist, was a faint scar, one line across each wrist, but you could only see them if you really got a good look at them. She moved her hand to cover the mark, and turned her head away from him. They just sat there silent for a short while, he stared at her, and she refused to make eye contact with him. "When did this happen?" he asked in a gentle and patient voice. She was silent for a moment but then finally answered him, "About a year ago, after I turned sixteen." She was having a very hard time bringing this up, he could tell by the fact that she was gripping her wrists tighter. He moved a little closer, and put his hand on her back. "Tell me." he said to her in the same soft voice, and he saw a tear roll down her face. "Mother had started experimenting with my condition." she said in a teary voice, "After Dr. Alexander failed, I could tell she still wanted to try for that supposed utopia. When I was alone one day, I started breaking things. I smashed a window that she had, because I thought it would make me feel better. I looked down at all of the broken shards on the floor, and that's when I noticed one in particular. It was large and jagged, I couldn't help but pick it up." Delta just continued listening to her, not saying a word, and definitely not judging her.

"I looked at the glass in my hand," she said with tears running down her face, "then I looked at all of the shards on the ground. The glass was now useless because it was destroyed. I thought... if I was destroyed too... then I wouldn't have to be tormented anymore. I just thought... there was no other way at the time." She brought her hands to her face and cried quietly. Delta saw how sad she was, and he truly felt bad for her. He hugged her as she wept, the only thing he could think to do to calm her down. After a minute or so, she returned the hug to him. She looked him in the eyes, and he wiped away the tears with his thumb. They felt so strange against his skin, and her her skin was warm and red. This new feeling of touch, was very foreign to him.

He turned around, and picked something up off of the counter. He then turned back to her, and he was holding the old recorder. "Take this." he told her, she looked at the recorder and then back to him, but slowly took it in her hands. He knew she was going to ask, so he answered her ahead of her words. "Just consider it my way of saying I'm sorry." he said in a sad voice, "For all the times that I wasn't there to tuck you in at night, for all the birthdays that I missed. For every thing that I missed." He turned away from her, not know what she would say or do. She looked down at the small device and inspected it. She noticed a small button on the recorder and pressed it. A gentle violin music started playing, coupled with the sound of a flute in the middle. Eleanor felt an immediate calmness from the music, like the song was trying to put her to sleep.

She walked up behind him, and hugged him from behind. He slowly grasped the hand that was around his waist, and he held it affectionately. "Thank you" she whispered to him. He turned around to face her, and he hugged her with all the love he had. "I don't want to lose you again." he said with a still sad voice, "You always keep me going. So just please... promise me you won't do that again." "I promise" she said back to him, and they both stood there holding each other. He took the recording off of the counter, and then picked up the knife he had. He started carving into the plastic, which only took about a minute or so. He gave it back to her, and she looked at what he wrote. The already written word was still there, but her wrote something beside it. It now said, _Eleanor's lullaby._

She looked at him and smiled, and he returned it to her. They both met again for a hug, only this time it was not out of sadness, but a feeling of true understanding. "I love you honey." he whispered to her, "I love you too daddy." she whispered back to him. They truly had a special bond, but one that goes beyond that of science. For both of them had someone who understood, and would never judge them. This bond between a father and his daughter, could never be broken, no matter what.


	15. Chapter 15

Part 15: Getting used to It

Eleanor left the kitchen taking the recording with her, allowing Delta to get back to work on getting the suit off. The tubes from his IV's were dangling from his arms, knots were tied at the end to keep the fluids from leaking out. Cutting off the rest of the sleeves was relatively easy, although afterward he looked like he was wearing a big daddy vest. He called in Jack to help him get the oxygen tanks off, but Jack didn't mind giving him a hand.

He tightened the the valves on the air tanks, so they wouldn't let out air from his helmet being taken off. Delta took the helmet off and set it on the counter. Jack took the screw driver, and started loosening the tank off from his back. "So, what are we going to do about my fluid reserves?" Delta asked him, "Well we can't just dump it down the sink." Jack answered him, "We're gonna have to save 'em and burn 'em with the rest of the suit." Delta just nodded, not knowing what else to do. Jack took the heavy tanks off of Delta's back, and set them on the floor against the wall. He then went to one of his cupboards, and pulled out two large glasses.

He went around to Deltas back again, and positioned one glass under the EVE reserve. He pulled the tube from the bottom, and the fluid came pouring out into the glass. The sticky fluid glowed in the glass, making it look like some sort of neon cocktail. He set the glass aside, placing it next to Delta. Delta looked at the glass of the disgusting fluid, and he resisted the urge to poke it with his finger. Jack then took the other glass and placed it under the vial of the healing fluid. Same as last time, he pulled the tube out from it and let it drain into the glass. This one more resembled a glass of glow blood though.

Jack then took both glasses and placed them on the counter. "Okay, do you need anything else?" Jack asked him, "Well..." Delta said hesitantly, "I've got a feeling that I'm not wearing clothes under here. If you get what I mean." Jack just laughed, "It's alright, I can give you a pair of clothes." Delta laughed a little himself, "Thanks man, I owe you a lot." "Will you cut it out." Jack said to him, "You don't owe me anything. Like I said before, you guys don't need any of the stuff that I had to go through. And more to the point, your a good man, and I know you will do good around here." Delta just gave him a smile and nodded as Jack went upstairs to get Delta a pair of clothes.

Delta went on cutting off more of his suit, until the only thing he only had his lower big daddy suit left. He looked down at his midsection, his almost pure white skin looking back at him. His stomach was flat and firm with muscle. His chest, which was devoid of any hair, was also firm with muscle. His arms had muscle, but he wasn't overly buff. While he was examining his body, Jack walked in with a fresh pair of clothes. Jack walked up beside him to set the clothes next to him, and then put his hand on his shoulder. Delta shuddered at the feeling of his hand against his bare skin. "Still trying to get used to it?" Jack asked him, "Yeah," Delta responded, "I can't remember the last time I felt my own skin." Jack just gave him a reassuring pat on the back, and motioned toward the clothes he left for him.

"I hope these fit you." Jack said in a joking manner, but he hoped he wouldn't take it the wrong way. Delta gave him a half smile, "Yeah, I'm a big boy." he said in the same joking style. Both of them just laughed, "You might wanna go in the bathroom before you take off your pants." Jack said to him pointing down the hallway. Delta gave him a nod, and picked up the clothes to go to the bathroom. "You don't have to worry about any female products in there, that's my bathroom and my girls know it." Then he turned and left, and Delta went down the hall to the bathroom.

Delta went into the bathroom, and closed the door behind him. He set the clothes down on the bathroom sink, and looked up to see his reflection. He leaned in to look at himself, for he hadn't seen his own face in a long time. He ran his hand across the top of his hair, which resembled a military style hair cut. His hand followed down his face, touching the scar on his temple. He looked at his eyes, they were a mixture of gray and blue. From what he had heard earlier from Eleanor, his were pure before. He could only guess that the numerous amount of splicing had changed them. He then turned his attention away from his reflection, and decided to figure out how to get the lower part of the suit off. He wasn't sure if the scientist had done something to his lower half. Although, his fears were quickly realized when he pulled top part of his pants away.

To his demise, he had a catheter in. He was not looking forward to having to pull that thing out. He reached down and grabbed the tube, and then put a towel in his mouth to cover his screams. He pulled slightly on the thing, and his eyes widened from the pain. He continued pulling on it, while screaming through the cloth in this mouth. It took five minutes, but he eventually got the thing out. He put the thing aside on the sink counter, and decided to take the remaining pieces of the suit off.

He pulled pants off, and with it the boots. He took the boxers off the counter, and put them on first. He guessed that they were new, because they were white and looked like they were fresh out of a package. He then took the denim pants and put them on after. The only thing left was a short sleeved, red button down shirt. He put it on, but didn't bother tucking it in. He went out of the bathroom, feeling very strange in the new attire. He was hit in the shoulder by something, he looked down to see what it was, it was a pair of cotton socks. He then looked up to see Jack, "Forgot to give those to you." he said, "I'll get you a pair of shoes when I go out after lunch." Delta just nodded to him and picked up the fresh socks.

Delta walked into the living room where all of the girls were. They all looked up at him, astonished by how much he changed. Eleanor was particularly shocked, he sure looked the part of a modern day man. "What's wrong, do I look that bad?" he laughed, "No," Eleanor said with wide eyes, "it's just... you look so..." "Human." Delta finished with a smile and sat down next to Eleanor, "I know. But I'll tell you, it's certainly nice. In fact, maybe you should get something new also." he said the last part like a bit of a joke. "My thoughts exactly." said a voice just at the entrance to the living room.

There stood blonde haired Victoria, recently showered and dressed. Both Delta and Eleanor looked at her strangely, for she had on some pretty strange clothing to their eyes. She had on a t shirt that displayed a multitude of colors (tie-dye), as well as a pair of denim jeans that were wide at the base of the legs (bell bottoms). "Come on honey, I'll get you cleaned up. Then, I'll teach you a little something about the style of today." Eleanor looked unsure, and looked at her father for an answer. Delta just threw her a smile, and cocked his head toward Victoria. Eleanor rose uneasily from her seat and started over. "First things first," Victoria said, "Lets get you in the shower." Victoria went upstairs, and Eleanor began to follow, but took one final look over to Delta. He motioned for her to go upstairs, and then gave her a look of reassurance.

She went back to climbing up the stairs, and Delta was left with the younger girls. He just watched them play, and thought of how they were going to get them home. He then took the socks he had, and put them on his feet. Just after he was done doing that, Sofia walked in. She took one look, and almost didn't recognize him, but his face was unmistakable. She felt a strange feeling come over her when she saw toned and bandaged arms, but quickly shoved them aside. "Well, don't you look like a changed man." she said to him with a smile, "Yeah," he said turning to her, "but it's still with me in a few ways." he looked down to his left hand, the mark still there.

She went over and sat down next to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. His body tensed up a little from her touch, and she pulled back. "Sorry," he said, "still not completely used to it." "Don't worry," she said with a smile, "We all have a lot of things to get used to."


	16. Chapter 16

**I don't think anything will match the bomb shell I dropped in Part 8. Maybe this will, but that's for you to answer.**

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Part 16: The Reasons Why

For the next hour or so, Delta and Sofia just sat there and watched the rest of the news. They figured that it would probably be a good idea to get as updated as possible. But at the same time, there was a bit of an awkward feeling between the two of them. Delta shrugged it off, and then looked over to the news paper. He picked it up and unfolded it so he could read it. He looked through all of the articles, and his eyes stopped when he saw something of interest.

"Huh," he said in interest, "so that's Vietnam." "What?" Sofia asked looking over to him reading the news paper. "This" he pointed to the article, "it's a country in south east Asia. Apparently, this is where the United States is at war right now. But, according to this, there is no real reason for them to be there." "Well that doesn't make sense." Sofia commented. "Well, the article also says that they are fighting to keep communist forces from invading. So, I guess that's the reason." They just looked over it for a short while, but both of them didn't give their opinions on what they thought. They knew that going into politics was not a good idea.

Upstairs, Eleanor was sitting in front of a mirror while Victoria was brushing her hair. Eleanor had just recently gotten out of the shower, and was now in a bath robe instead of her dress. "Ow" Eleanor felt her hair get pulled when Victoria brushed her hair another time, "Well if you stop fidgeting it won't hurt." Eleanor wasn't used to having someone else do this. "Are you sure your alright with this?" Eleanor asked, "If I wasn't, would I have offered?" Victoria replied jokingly. "So, does everyone dress like that?" Eleanor asked, "Well, not everyone. But don't worry, I'll get you something good to wear."

"Anything you pick for her to wear, will probably get her labeled a hippie like you." Erica said from the shower in the bathroom. "Just cause I'm a nonconformist, doesn't mean I'm a hippie." Victoria remarked, "Please, that is the very definition of a hippie." Victoria shot a dirty look at the door that led to the bathroom, "Give me just a second." she put the brush down and walked over to the door. She pocked her head in the door, and reached one arm inside. The next thing that was heard was the sound of a toilet flushing, and a few seconds after, a yelling Erica. "Oh my god, that's cold!" Eleanor heard from the bathroom, Victoria then took herself out of the bathroom and went back over to Eleanor with a mischievous grin. Eleanor put her hand in front of her mouth to keep a laugh in.

"That wasn't very nice." Eleanor said trying hold back her laughter, "Well, she's my sister, so I have a right to." Eleanor just shook her head with a smile. "Now just sit tight, I'm gonna go see if I can find something that will be good for you to wear." Victoria then left the room, leaving Eleanor to look around the room. There were three beds positioned in it, each one different from the other. The room itself was fairly large, and had a closet in it as well. Eleanor then heard the sound of a door opening, and turned her head to see Erica stepping out of the bathroom in a robe with her hair put up in a towel. "Oh, I'm going to kill her." she muttered, she then noticed Eleanor starring at her.

"Sorry 'bout the shouting, but that was really damn cold." Erica said rubbing her arms to help warm them up. She went and sat down on one of the beds, and then looked over to Eleanor. "Hey, there's a question I wanted to ask you." "What?" Eleanor asked, "How come your dad was giving me a weird look earlier?" Eleanor was unsure how to answer the question, because she didn't know herself. "I'm not really sure. Maybe, he remembers you from the past when you were a sister." "I guess that makes sense, I just thought it was strange is all." Erica said to Eleanor. Erica then thought that it would be a good idea to get Eleanor's thought off of Rapture.

"Your hair's really nice." Erica complimented, "Thanks" Eleanor said plainly. "No really, I'm usually the only one in this house that has short hair. But, yours has a lot of potential." Eleanor smile over to her, "What, are you planning on going to beauty school?" "Yes, I am actually." "Oh yeah, that will take you far." said a sarcastic voice at the door. Victoria had returned with the clothes she got for Eleanor, "Oh, what do you know?" Erica replied at her comment. "I will say one thing though, Miss America, you are right about her having good hair. It's a lot easier to manage then some of ours." Eleanor just smiled at them, "Well, I owe that to my dad." The two of them just smiled at each other, knowing they were helping her start to forget about that hell she used to live in.

Downstairs, Jack was giving Sofia and Delta a quick news update on what was happening recently, apart from what they already knew. "So, now we have a new President, Richard Nixon. A lot of people think that he's gonna be the one to end all of the stuff going on in Asia. I don't know personally, I generally try not to pick sides on those kind of subjects." "That's understandable." Delta agreed. Then every one heard footsteps coming from the top of the stairs. Victoria stopped midway on the stairs, and looked at everyone with a smile. "Everyone, may I introduce, the new Eleanor Lamb." Eleanor came down the stairs very slowly, not knowing what her parents would think. She came into full view on the stairs, she had on a pair of red pants and a white short sleeved shirt. Both Delta and Sofia looked at her with eyes firmly fixed on her.

Eleanor smiled over at them, "What, do I look that bad?" she said quoting her father from earlier. "No, you look great." Delta said with a laugh, "Yes, you do look great." Sofia added. Eleanor smiled at them, and went down the stairs to join them in the living room. Victoria then walked up to Jack, "Hey dad, please tell me you made a decision on that, little request I made." "He's not gonna let you go to Woodstock." said Erica from the top of the stairs. "You don't know that." Victoria shouted back at her, "Please dad." she looked at him with face that was sickeningly sweet. "It's four months away Victoria, just give it a little more time." "OK," she said and then gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "I love you dad." then she scurried upstairs again. "Yeah, I love you too." he said shacking his head with a half smile.

Jack turned back at the group, the three of them were all looking at him. He knew what they were going to ask, so he answered them ahead of their words. "Woodstock, is a big concert that's going to be on for three days in New York. She wants to go, but I'm unsure if I should let her." "Well, is she going with anyone else?" Sofia asked, "I don't know yet, she hasn't said anything about that.", "I wouldn't let her go." Delta replied. "Your probably right." Jack agreed, "But I know she really wants to go to it." "Well, it's not my decision to make Jack. But what ever you do, just make sure she doesn't get in any trouble." Delta said. "That's harder then you think with teenagers," Jack laughed, "But, you'll know soon enough."

The rest of the day went on without much anything else happening. Most of the day, Jack, Sofia and Delta were busy with paper work. They were trying to establish the right documents for the younger girls, so it would be easier form them to say they were theirs. They stopped a few times during the day, mainly to take breaks. All of them had lunch together, and they chatted away about things that had been going on since they had last talked. It was difficult work getting all of the paper work together, mainly because they had to extract specific information from the younger children. Also, they had to find out where the children that had families lived. Eleanor was busy learning about all of the things she would need to know from Jacks girls. Many of them were eager to teach her, mainly because they really wanted her to feel normal for once. Later in the day, Jack and Sofia went out to get some basic supplies for the. The reason that he took Sofia, was because he trusted Delta a little bit more then her. The main reason being, he talked to him more then her. They got a few things, along the lines of a few things for Delta to change into, and a few hygienic products, like toothbrushes. After the long day, it was getting late into the evening, and everyone had just finished dinner.

Jack set his fork on his plate, and let out a content sigh. He then looked over to Sam and Katie, "Sam, Katie, it's your turn to clear the table." both of them just nodded, and started picking up the dishes at the table. "Well, I think we'll need to make some sleeping arrangements." Jack said to Sofia and Delta, both of them just nodded their heads. "Marsha, will you go set up an area for the younger ones to sleep in please?" she nodded her head, and went upstairs. "Victoria, Erica, can you two take Eleanor and find a spot for her to sleep in your room?" they both nodded, and followed Marsha upstairs. "You two," Jack said pointing at Sofia and Delta, "I have a place that's all set up and ready for you guys. Come on and I'll show you." Jack stood up with them, and he started to lead them down a hallway.

When they got to the end of the hall, they came to a door. Jack opened the door, reveling a guest bedroom. The room consisted of a large bed, with a night stand on either side of it, each one having a lamp situated on it. It also had a bookshelf in one of the corners, containing numerous books. There was also a dresser on the far end of the room, with a small television set on top of it. "Well, you two should be comfortable in here." Jack said to them, "It's a small room but it should serve you well." "It'll be just perfect." Delta responded, slightly uneasy about sharing a bed with Sofia. He didn't know it, but she was just as nervous as he was. The two of them weren't sure how this would play out, but they figured it was a lot better than sleeping on the floor.

Jack then left, leaving the two of them to do whatever they were going to do. They just stood there for a few moments, starring at each other. Delta then turned and walked to the bathroom across the hall. He walked inside, and closed the door behind him. He did his business, and turned to face himself in the mirror. The turned the sink on, and splashed some water on his face. He took off his day clothing, and put on a pair of sweat pants and an under shirt that Jack had gotten for him earlier. He walked out of the bathroom, and walked back into the bedroom. He walked in, and saw Sofia was sitting on the bed and taking her shoes off. After she took them off, she rubbed her feet slightly from them being sore. She stood up, and pulled the covers of the bed back.

She looked up, and noticed Delta looking over at her. He walked over and helped her pull the covers back so they would be able to get in easier. Sofia just looked at him, and then slid her legs into the bed. Delta did the same, and both of them just sat there on the bed for a second looking at each other. Delta then turned to the night stand, and picked up a similar device to the one in the living room. Jack had explained earlier to them, that it was a remote control, and it could control the television from a distance. Delta hit the button on the remote, and the television sprang to life. The channel they were on was still the news, but both of them just sat there and watched.

It was late, and everyone was starting to bed down. The young girls were situated in the room with Marsha and Sam, and Eleanor was in the room with the three others. Most of the lights in the house had died, all except for the ones in the guest room. Delta and Sofia were sitting there on the bed, the covers over their legs, and just starring at the television. For about half an hour, the two of them just sat there, not saying a word to each other. There was a very strong awkward feeling between the two of them. At the same time though, this was just the opportunity that Delta was looking for. They were alone now, and he could now speak to her. He turned his head to her, ready to address what was on his mind.

"So, when did you plan on telling me?" he asked, "What?" she said turning to him. "When did you plan on telling me, that our daughter tried to kill herself?" her eyes widened slightly, not expecting him to be so forward. She was unsure how to answer, so he asked another question, "What did you do when you found out?" She didn't want to answer that, because she knew that he wouldn't agree with her answer. "Are you addressing that matter, or me?" she questioned him back, "It's both." he replied sternly. She just looked at him, and then thought of another way to deflect. "I thought we already went over this." she said, "No, we went over why _I _felt terrible. What I want to know, is what's wrong with you." Her eyes went wide, she was both surprised and slightly insulted. "There is nothing wrong with me." "Oh, I beg to differ." he said after her, "There's no way that someone could be driven to extremism, without some form of influence. What happened to you?" she merely answered him with a stare. "Sofia, I want this to work, but we need to work together with this. I care about what happens to everyone, but I need help with this. Please, talk to me." She looked very timid, but again only answered him with a stare.

"Sofia, please, tell me something. I don't care what it is, just tell me. Let someone in, and show who you are. Please." She was starting to look scared, but still refused to answer. He turned his head away from her, and shook his head in disappointment. He sighed, "Good night." he said in a disappointed voice and turned to click off his light. He turned the TV and his light off, then rolled over on his side to face away from her. Sofia just looked at him for a few moments, thinking about what he said. She turned her head away, and leaned over to turn her light off. She rolled over on her side, but she found it hard to fall asleep. There were so many thoughts swirling through her mind that she couldn't even think about sleep. Eventually, exhaustion took over her, and she fell asleep. There were no dreams that night, only silence.

Sofia woke from her slumber, noticing she was alone. She lifted her head up, and looked at the clock on the wall. It was half past five, the sun was just starting to rise. She looked around the room, wondering where he might have gone. She notices that the covers were pushed back, and the door was open. She immediately knew he left the room. She turned herself so she could get down from the bed, and placed her feet down on the floor. The carpet felt soft against the bottom of her feet, which was welcome from the slight chill in the air. She moved to the door slowly, and poked her head out to see if he was near. She walked out on the hardwood floor of the hallway, and looked around. She walked down the hallway, wonder where he may have gone. She came to the living room, she looked around, but he wasn't there.

She continued walking around the house, and then found a door she hadn't seen. She walked up to it, it was a glass door that led outside to a back yard. She looked outside, and there he was. He was standing in the middle of the yard, his back to the house with his hands behind him. He was just standing there with his head craned slightly upwards to the sky. His eyes were closed, he was just standing there, drinking in the morning peace. Sofia looked at him, and wondered what she should do. But, then she realized what she needed to do.

He took in a deep breath, feeling the fresh air in his lungs. He didn't even notice her watching him, until she spoke to him. "John, is your name." his eyes shot open, and spun around to face her. "What?" he asked surprised, "Your name, is John. John Michael Crissinger." He was shocked by this, she knew his name all along. She walked slowly to him, until she was only about a foot away from him. He was going to say something, but she beat him to it. "I should have told you that long ago. But, there are a lot of things that I should have told you." He looked at her, she was starting have a look of pure sadness on her face. That's, when she began to reveille herself to him.

"When I was young... my father a I never got along. From what my mother told me, he never wanted a daughter. He made it very clear to me that he didn't want me around. He never gave me anything special in my life. I just thought that was how life was supposed to be. I thought that, no one was allowed to have anything special." She moved a little closer to him, fighting tears in her eyes. " That's when I started founding my ideals. I thought that everyone was supposed to have the same, no matter how bad things were. It also seeded a deep haltered of men in me. I thought, that they would all be alike. So, I pushed them all away, thinking they were all alike. Then... I met you." She came full in, and rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his back. He was caught slightly off guard by this, but he put one arm around her. "John..." she said in a voice that sounded like she would tear up at any second. She lifted her head up to face him, she looked so miserable. "I was a cold woman John. You were the only thing that ever warmed my heart, and I pushed you away. Oh John, forgive me."

She then pressed her face into his chest, and broke down. "Forgive me... forgive me... forgive me." she whimpered into his chest. He put both his arms around her, and found it hard to contain the tears swelling in his eyes. It was done now, they had all broken. Now, all that remained of Sofia Lamb, was this mess of a woman. She had broken to him, and was now begging for his forgiveness, and a new start. She was now like clay, and someone needed to mold her into something better. He picked her head up slightly so she could look into his eyes. He spoke to her in very compassionate and gentle voice, "Sofia, I know you've had a troubled past, but you must learn to let go. Remember your past, but don't dwell on it. If I never let go, a lot of people would be dead."

"Do you remember when I fought those two big sisters?" she gave him a nod. "When that last one was ready to die, I freed her. I did it, because I knew it was the right thing to do. Just to put her out of that torment. And after that... I prayed with her. I don't even know if I believe in god, but I did it to let her know she wasn't alone." Sofia looked dead into his eyes, and saw that he felt pain over what he had done to the other big sisters before. "I want you to know, that you are not alone. I will be here for you, when no one else will. I will be your support when you're trouble. I will be with you, from now on."

The two of them just stood there in each others arms, looking at each others faces. He could feel himself unconsciously leaning forward, and noticed she was as well. Their faces were inching closer together, and their breath was starting to mix and swirl. There was a momentary pause when they were only about an inch away, for they were unsure. But slowly, he moved forward, and closed the gap completely. Their lips met in a very deep, and passionate kiss. His lips were slightly dry, but hers were soft and inviting. And for them, in this one moment, everything was right in the world. There was no more hatred between them, and something new was beginning to take its place.

They pulled apart, and looked into each others eyes. It was then... they truly saw each other. She came back to him, and he held her close to his chest. She felt the rhythm of heart, and helped her relax. They finally understood each other, and what they would need to do. Both of them wanted the same thing now; to have a family, and be happy. The whole time that they were having their moment together, they didn't notice that someone was watching them. In the upstairs window, Eleanor was watching them. A smile was on her face, but not the devious one she had to them earlier. This one, was of pure happiness. She no long had had just a mom and a dad... now, she had parents.

"And then father, the Rapture dream was _truly _over. You taught me that evil is just a word. Under the skin, it's simple pain. For you, mercy was victory. You sacrificed, you endured, and when given the chance, you forgave... always. Mother believed, that this world was irredeemable. But she was wrong, father. We are Utopia, all of us now. And in forgiving, you left the door open for her... and even invited her in."

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**Well, I hat eto say this... but we are nearing the end. There will be one final part, but then I must move on. All good things must ocme to an end.**


	17. Chapter 17

Part 17: Happiness

(Many years later) We find our old friends in a hospital. And when I say old, I mean that literally now. It's been a very long time since we last saw them. One of the rooms in the hospital, contains a very familiar person. An old man is laying in a hospital bed, hooked to a heart monitoring machine. He has full gray hair, along with a same color goatee. An IV is running through his right arm, and there is a breathing tube connected to his nose. He doesn't really like the tube in his arm, for he had one in his arm for far to long before. This, was the man that was once known as Subject Delta. Of course, he hasn't gone by that name in a while, not since he learned his true name.

On his right side, an old woman is sitting in a chair holding his hand. In between their laced fingers, one of her fingers has ring on it. On his left hand, he is wearing a ring as well, coupled with the old mark on his hand. The woman has her white hair tied back, and is wearing a familiar pair of eyeglasses. This aged old woman, just happened to be Sofia. The years that have we have not seen have taken a toll on her as far as what she looks like goes.

On his left side, a middle aged woman is sitting in a chair holding his left hand. Her short black hair is starting to become gray as well, but is still retaining some of its color. Around her neck is a leather strap necklace, and at the bottom of the necklace was the symbol on the old mans hand. She always wore that necklace, just as her form of keeping him close. This woman, was his beloved daughter Eleanor.

Now I know what your thinking: "What are they doing in a hospital?" Well... there's a bit of a problem with our old hero. That problem being, he's dieing. Only this time, there is no way to stop it. He has been lying there for a few days now, and was starting to show signs of getting worse in the past few days. The entire time that he was in the hospital, Sofia never left his side. Also, as soon as Eleanor had heard the news of him, she immediately rushed to where he was. Both of them wanted to be there for him when he was like this.

On the wall of his hospital room, the man who was once known as Subject Delta, had his favorite pictures. Not only were they on the wall, but they were strewn all across the room. Some of them were in color, and some of them were in black and white. But the similarity of them all, is that they all told a story of his life.

The first one of his pictures, was a black and white of him, Sofia, Eleanor, and three former little sisters that they had adopted. They were standing in front of a house, because it was the first house they had bought. Another, was a color picture of him standing in front of his first car he had bought. Another of the pictures, was a color photo of Eleanor and the younger girls going to their first day of school. That was a hard day for both him and Sofia.

There was another color picture on the table, that was of him and Eleanor. The two of them were just standing and looking, watching the Apollo 11 make its voyage up to the moon. Another black and white picture, was of him and his entire family at a carnival. One of his proudest pictures, was that of Eleanor's graduation photo. The reason it was a proud picture, was because she graduated valedictorian. He also had photos of the other girls when they graduated, and held them just as proudly.

His other photos, were that of him and Sofia. One was a black and white picture of him and her, the night her proposed to her. He was kneeling in front of her holding the ring up to her, and she had a surprised look on her face. The next picture was of the two of them standing there in their wedding outfits. The rest of the pictures were just of random moments in time. Some of him and his best friend Jack, some of him and Eleanor, and a lot of other moments in time. But by far, his favorite photo was indeed the oldest. It was centered in the middle of a hospital table, and was black and white. It was their first family portrait, which contained him and the rest of his family, all smiling happily. It was the first picture of all five of them together, and loved it dearly.

Before the scene we came into, there were a few people that came into his room and talked to him. His younger daughters had came in to visit him, and even brought their kids to see. He loved all of his children, and grandchildren alike. They all just seemed to bring him so much happiness, and made him feel like the father he wanted to be. They all said hello, and their goodbyes to him. They reminisced on their past, looked at old photos, and just enjoyed every moment they were having.

After all of his younger daughters and their children had gone, another person came in. It was an old man, but a very familiar person. It was his old and dear friend, Jack Ryan. He had aged just like Delta had, and was no better off as far as how much time he had left. The two of them talked for a while, and went on about their past. They finished talking, and Jack bid him a teary farewell as he left. Now, it was just him, his wife, and his daughter.

"You really don't have to be here." he told them in his deep old voice. Sofia lifted up his hand, and kissed his fingers. "We're going to be here for you to the very end John." Sofia told him as a tear snaked down her face. At the same time, Eleanor had tears running down her face as well. "Why must you always be taken from me?" Eleanor asked mournfully. "There there now." he said to Eleanor, "No tears Eleanor. This isn't anything like last time. This time, we have no control. Death is a natural part of life... and I've come to accept that. I don't know what's gonna happen after this, and I'm not going to pretend to know... but no matter what, I'll love you both."

Both of the women started sniffling, and just couldn't bear the thought of him being gone. They both climbed up on the bed, and snugged themselves close to his sides. He responded to it by putting one arm around each of them, and holding them as tight as he possibly could. "I know I don't have much time left..." he told them in a whisper, "But I want both of you here beside me. The both of you... have given me something very great. And that is... the family I thought I would never have. My two angels... I love you both so much... and be good while I'm gone."

After he finished, he gave out one final sigh... and his heart monitors went flat. Both Sofia and Eleanor looked up, and noticed that he was still smiling. He looked as though he died a happy death. And all honesty, he had. Eleanor lifted her head up, and gave him one final kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye daddy... I'll miss you." she cried to him. Then both of them just lied there, crying on the body of the man that was the very heart of their family.

His grave marker was placed under a shady oak tree, in plain sight for all to see. Many people had come to the funeral, and a lot of them were friends that he had made over the years. All of them got to say their goodbyes to him, and place a flower on his grave marker. On his marker it read: "John M. Crissinger- Hero, Husband, but above all, a loving Father." Then, below the writing, was the symbol that he bared for so long.

Most everybody had left by now, except for a few people. That being his wife, his best friend, and his children. "You were a good man John." Jack said to the stone, "Let no one say otherwise. It took a lot to do what you did. Not just in Rapture, but in this world as well. You are more then I could ever be, that's for damn sure. I know death is a natural part of life, because we're all on that road... But I'll still miss you. I know your in a better place... but I guess I just miss my friend."

Jack the turned to Sofia and Eleanor, who were just starring down at the marker with sadness. He approached them, and reached into his back pocket. "John wanted me to give this to you." he told them taking out and envelope in his pocket, "He said, to make sure you get it. He said it was important that you read it." Eleanor took the envelope slowly from Jack, and looked at the front of it. It said nothing on the front, so she turned it over to open it. Inside, there was a letter that he had wrote, only some time before his death. Eleanor just decided to read it out loud to everyone.

"Dear friends and family,

If you reading this, it means that I have left this world. But I don't want any sadness over my death, for it won't do anything. I've lived a good life, despite what may have happened in the middle. I'm willing to over look that, and for good reason. You've all given me a great thing, something I thought I could never have. And that, was true happiness. Jack, you're a good friend, and you've got a kind heart. I don't think we would have made it very far without your help. So, I thank you, my best friend. Sofia, I never would have thought that the two of us could have made it this far. But, I was willing to go the distance for it. Not just for my sake, but for you as well. No matter what has been said before, we had our time together. I love you, and take care of Eleanor. And speaking of Eleanor, there is something very important I must say to her. Eleanor, you are the greatest gift I could have asked for in this world. And you were also the best thing that I brought to this world. I may not have been there for a while, but I was able to be there when I was. I got to watch you experience life, to grow, to learn, and become something better than myself. I love you, and I'm sorry I couldn't have been there for you. Now that all is said and done, I want you all to go out and live. Life is the greatest of all gifts, so don't waste it on being sad and holding grudges. Go out there, and live, love, forgive if necessary, and always keep your head high. I know I'm gone physically, but I'm not really gone. Just remember all of the times we had together, and be happy with your life. Know that I'll never truly leave you, for I'll be here... Now and Forever. Love, Johnathan"

Eleanor lowered the letter from her face, and just looked up to the sun with a smile, as tears of joy ran down her face. She than reached down into the bag she had at her side, and pulled something out. It was the glove that her wore as a big daddy, she kept it all that time. She then placed the glove on top of the stone, and positioned it so the symbol was facing forward. And then she thought of one final thing, one last thought of her father.

_For the longest time, I thought I was alone in this world. That I was destined to never have my own choices. But I was proven wrong, by one person that loved me from the start. At first I thought it was artificial love, but again I was proven wrong. Father... my true father, saved me in every way a person can be saved. But he didn't stop with just me. He spread his love, his kindness, his morals, his drives to everyone. Mother thought that no one could do that willingly, but he did. He proved that there is such a thing as true love. They may not have felt it before, but they learned how to. And if the two most unlikely people can learn to love... then there's no end to the possibilities that this world has. His acts of kindness, forgiveness, and true caring will be remembered by us all. I know he is in a better place now... for he has rightfully earned it._

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**Well, I hope you all have enjoyed it. I know I liked writing it. This was my first ever fiction, so I will now take the time to give thanks to all who stuck by me through the end.**

**Archivist: Thank you so much for your support through the begging. You helped me get inspired to do one of the most important parts of the story**

**SubjectDeltaBubz: A loyal fan, and thank you for being there when I was just starting.**

**Verakun: One of my most loyal followers. You may have commented a little late, but you stuck by me through the end. Thank you, so much.**

**Fire Nerbil: Some people may take what you said as offense, but I didn't. You gave it to me straight forward, and that's how I learn. So, I gotta thank you for that. You were very mature with how you said it as well.**

**Well, if I missed any other long time followers I'm sorry. I hope you all enjoyed, and I once again thank you for supporting me through all of this. **


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